Rivalry
by Avid.Spade
Summary: Hiring day was ridiculous as Kaiba found it to be - but when in need of a sudden secretary, what does he do? Of course, he hires the only person who would be willing to work for him. Unfortunately, Kaiba finds the girl atrocious, stubborn and arguably absurd, and while her feelings are completely mutual, the two find the oddest events bringing them closer. Enjoy.
1. Hiring Day

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Sir, we're ready to begin."

Ignoring his guards, Kaiba simply gave a curt nod and with a flick of his fingers he gestured them out the room; they rushed out twice as fast, almost stumbling over each other.

He suppressed a roll of his eyes.

And while on most days, Seto Kaiba would, regrettably be his usual person, which included nothing short of arrogant and prideful, today was really something else - something he would prefer to throw out the window, hoping that it broke into irreplaceable pieces.

It was hiring day.

Kaiba cringed at the thought of those white-collared workers, all of them premature and optimistic thoroughly under the deluded impression that they would 'impact the company positively'; in which case, Kaiba had labeled that the most overused line in all of interview history since he had the torture of sitting through almost all of them. Because of that stale, hideously positive line, Kaiba had informed every pre-existing employee that who ever uttered that line, or anything of the sort during the interviews, would be thrown out in the blink of an eye.

He found this to be extremely effective, as half the interviews were usually stopped short on the first sentence. And although Kaiba would never admit it out loud, he found their pathetic points brought up in the interviews inwardly amusing, yet ridiculous all the same.

Did these newbies come to die?

Kaiba could only wonder.

In any case, if there was one thing he dreaded, feared, and loathed to an unbearable extent it was hiring day.

It was for simple reasons, nothing out of the blues, but he just couldn't stand hearing the stupidity in people's responses, and furthermore, their lack of understanding when he curtly stood up and said 'get out'.

They never did understand those two words - in fact, it usually took around four to five guards to get the message through to them. And for this reason and many, many more, Kaiba also hated hiring day because it lasted over a week.

Sighing profusely to himself, he pulled himself up from his office chair, "damn," he muttered, exiting his office.

Once out, a guard met him right by his office doors, scampering behind him. "Mr. Kaiba the show-up this year is huge! Huge, I say- there are tons of workers! _Tons!_"

Kaiba held in the urge to correct him and say 'to _be_ workers.'

"Are you new here?"

The man behind him blinked, "yes, sir - I started working here last month!"

Kaiba swiped his head around and eyed the man coldly, "stop being so happy- this isn't a circus. You're here to work and just work." He made a mental note to check the job statistics and criteria for the company. If this guy was being hired, clearly Kaiba Corp. had dropped its standards a few notches too low. That, or he would simple have to fire them all together, and start fresh.

Wonderful.

"Yes, sir!" The man eagerly responded.

Kaiba really did roll his eyes this time, as the man behind him stumbled and followed him down the hall and towards the elevators. Kaiba languidly paced into the doors of the elevator as the other man waddled inside. Unfortunately, Kaiba had no idea - for some apparent reason - as to what floor the interviews were on, but he was saved by grace as the man pushed the 14th button and the elevator began its journey.

He noted that the man beside him was sweating generously, and had now pulled out a handkerchief to dab the sweat off his forehead. Consciously, Kaiba inched away from the water-bucket beside him, inevitably displeased that the AC system was clearly ineffective if someone was still sweating as though they had just crossed the desert.

_This company would rot without me,_ he thought mentally, smirking.

Really, things had to be done.

"We're here sir," the man mumbled quietly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Kaiba gave him an uncharacteristic glance, before walking down the hall, "I can see that."

He stopped shortly and the man behind him briefly made contact with his back at his sudden halt.

Kaiba turned around, "leave now - go outside and get some air." _Really, you need it, _he thought, disgusted.

The man stood there, guffawed, "but Sir - -"

"Get out," he interjected swiftly.

Clearly the man was new - didn't he know that Kaiba entered the room alone, and always alone? Of course with the occasional exception of Mokuba every now and then, but aside from that, it was _his _walk and his walk only.

Spinning on his heals, Kaiba left the poor man gaping at his back.

Reaching the doors, he pulled them open, only to be addressed by multiple people at once.

"Sir, we have a problem-"

"Seto Kaiba, we have issues to discuss-"

"Sir, help! The interviews are getting late - we're running behind on schedule!"

"When's the new schedule going to be up?"

"Wait- what new schedule?"

Kaiba, was of course, not the CEO of the company for nothing - he had a reputation to uphold and while at times like this, all he felt like doing was shouting 'shut the fuck up', he was forced to address the issue at hand in a non-crude manner. Nicely even, but that wasn't in his nature - far from it actually.

"Quiet," he hissed, slamming his hands down.

The room ceased its bantering.

Slowly, the executives and god knows who else was there, pulled in a few chairs and sat down, muttering quietly.

"Listen up you old croons - I want everything to run smoothly. No mistakes will be tolerated as you are individually representing Kaiba Corp today."

"What do you mean, sir?" One of the men pressed.

Did he have to spell it out for them in fine text?

Glaring at the man, he said, "it means that we will hold single interviews amongst everyone here, meaning that each of you will interview one person at a time. I have been informed that we have quite the large show-up today. We're going to finish them all today," he concluded.

The man looked baffled, "b-but there's over fifty thousand people outside - how are we-?"

"Well you better get to work then, because I'm not going an hour over today for the crowd of elephants outside." He stated icily.

The men nodded meekly, and began scrambling to set up individual tables so that they could interview people.

"And one more thing," he said, "send anyone who looks like a good secretary to my office. I will judge them myself after they've passed your questions."

Upon his departure, the room was absurdly loud once more.

"Secretary eh?" One man thought out loud.

Another grinned, "it's been a while since we had one of those."

"Actually, Kaiba sir has never had any for that matter."

"Hmm, well I can see why."

"That man's got a stick up his ass, that's why."

"Well bloody good luck to who ever has that death job!"

"...If we can find anybody."

"Right - no one would want it."

Of course.

oOo

Kaiba sat there, furiously tampering away on his laptop - work was never low for him. It was always there - a little or a lot, it was there. And he decided he liked it that way. It kept him thoroughly occupied and made it seem like he had nothing better to do than work - which in reality, he didn't.

So far, being locked away in his office had been the best hiring day ever, however noisy it was outside. He could only imagine the horribleness his executives and producers had to sit through - but then again, he was paying them for it, so why not?

He was even more pleased to find that not a single potential secretary had been sent to his way. Kaiba silently hoped that none would come - he knew he needed one, but the prospect of one of those loons outside working at such close proximity with him everyday was highly unnerving. Who knew what they would do to him - not that he wasn't prepared for such situations.

Kaiba was always ready.

What he wasn't ready for was the shock that registered when he actually saw someone physically enter his office.

It was a miracle, per se.

What struck him even worse was that the person entering looked oddly familiar, with her golden orange hair swaying gracefully by her hips.

"Mr. Kaiba, we uhm, ah- we found a suitable secretary sir!" The man at the door mumbled.

"Yes, I can see that," Kaiba replied, not taking his eyes off her.

The man gave an awkward nod before ushering himself out the door.

Serenity blinked, looking around with a slightly curious face - she clearly didn't realize that she was currently standing in Seto Kaiba's personal office space.

"It's you."

Serenity turned her attention back at the man in front of her. "Hello, - my name is-"

"I know who you are," he cut in. "What I want to know is how you got here."

Serenity stared at him wordlessly, " I came up the stairs first - but then I found the elevator."

Kaiba found himself blanching at her atrocious use of humor - or was she serious? He couldn't tell.

"Funny," he commented dryly, "but I assume you passed the tests my other employees threw at you."

She nodded, "yes, I guess I did - but then I was told to come here..."

"How's the dog?" Kaiba interjected again.

Serenity's face resembled something along the lines of a frown, "my _brother _is quite well, thank you for asking - I didn't know you cared about him, but its nice to see you worrying yourself over his well-being," she smiled.

"You're just a bottle of jokes aren't you?" He retaliated swiftly.

Kaiba realized how professionally she had handled that, instead of snapping at him. He was, admittedly trying to get some sort of reaction from her. Spinning around and off his chair, Kaiba marched up to her, not giving her time to reply. He couldn't help but note that he was a good head and a half taller than her. His observations continued, drawing in her eyes, face, lips and everything below that. She was dressed formally too, adorned in a black skirt, with a black blazer, white dress shirt, and heels.

_She looks the same - just...different,_ Kaiba concluded mentally.

"Mr. Kaiba ?"

It felt unusually odd to hear her address him so formally. He snapped away from her figure, facing the glowing sunset outside his glass windows.

"Why do you want this job?"

It was straight.

Blunt.

To the point.

And quite frankly, the only thing he cared about since her presence entered the room.

"I need it," she replied curtly, and continued, "besides, is it necessary for me to divulge my personal matters and issues?"

Kaiba gritted his teeth - she was on mark with that one.

"No - no it's not, but if this is something you're doing for the fun of it, know now, that the consequences will be sever. It's not easy being my secretary."

Her lips tugged upwards, "I know."

_Like hell she does_, he thought.

"Fine."

She titled her slightly, "what's fine?"

"You're hired - you start from tomorrow."

Now it was Serenity's turn to look shocked - her look was priceless, and if Kaiba could laugh, he would - but Kaiba didn't laugh. It just wasn't his thing.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you su-"

"Does it looked like I'm kidding," Kaiba snapped.

She frowned, "no." Her face brightened again, "this is great!"

Kaiba said nothing - she was shortly about to find out how devastating her life was about to be. Silently, he paced up to her, holding out a hand. It was formal courtesy of course - to shake ones hand at a proclamation was something he just had to do as CEO. Staring at his hand, she tentatively reached out her own and grasped his.

Kaiba stared at their connected hands as though they had done more than just shake hands. He noticed that her hand was a lot smaller than his - and a lot warmer too.

Quickly, he retreated his hand.

"Thank you, ," she said calmly.

Kaiba nodded, and watched as she walked out of his office. At his office doors, the commotion suddenly rose. When Serenity walked out, she was met with a good handful of Kaiba's bodyguards and executives who had clearly been eavesdropping right on the door.

Kaiba had the urge to fire them all right that very instance.

"Out," he said curtly.

Sighing, he walked back to his desk.

He still couldn't believe what he had just done.

He had hired, Joey's sister as his...his - what again?

Ah, yes.

Secretary.

Smirking slightly, he turned back to his screen, pondering to himself.

_If she lasts even a week, I'll buy Mokuba that ridiculous jet ski joy ride, period._

* * *

_Ha, ha - there's the first chapter - I don't know if I want to continue, but there's definitely plenty more where this came from. _

_Let's see how Serenity and Kaiba handle, well, everything! :)_

_Reviews would be greatly appreciated~_

_Thanks. _


	2. Dirty Office

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

It was safe to say that the news of Seto Kaiba managing to tackle the feat of finding a secretary had travelled quickly through the many grapevines of the company. And of course, in turn - Kaiba was forced to make a long obligated speech on how no one was to utter a breath of a word to company outsiders or they would be fired on the spot.

No one had any qualms to say the least, as they all went about doing their own business quietly. And while everyone slunk away from the subject of the new secretary (of course, whispers were still going about), only Mokuba, the younger Kaiba had something to say. He obviously wasn't aware of Kaiba's terrors like everyone else was. Fortunately for the workers, they found that Mokuba was the perfect kid who reflected all the questions that they had bottled inside themselves.

"Seto," Mokuba grinned, hopping onto the long couch at the side of his office.

"Hmm?"

Facing his brother now, Mokuba dangled his feet off the side of the sofa, "how's the new secretary coming along?"

Kaiba momentarily choked, but didn't show it, "I don't know, Mokuba, but she'll be here today," he muttered. _Unless she chickened out of course_, he added mentally.

"So-?"

"So?" Kaiba repeated, leaning back in his chair.

"Is she hot?"

Now Kaiba really did choke ever so slightly, as he stared at his brother in mortification. "Mokuba," he pained out, "that is not the point here."

But Mokuba pressed on, "but still - is she?"

Kaiba actually sat there and wondered for a second. He had never really thought about women that way, and he certainly wasn't going to start thinking that way because of a new secretary.

"She's adequate."

Mokuba raised a brow, "what does that mean?"

"Nothing - her looks don't matter anyway, it's her work habits and ethics that matter - if she doesn't do it right, I'll fire her. It's that simple."

"Oh Seto," Mokuba laughed, "you're so serious - anyway, I wanna meet her! When is she coming huh?"

Kaiba glared at the door, and looked back at his watch - if she wasn't here in the next two minutes she would be late on her first day to work, which would only lead him to believe that she was unsuitable for this position, and thus he would proceed to fire her there and then.

Literally.

Mokuba's eagerness seemed to have payed off, as the door slid open revealing a slightly panting Serenity.

"Just in time," she gasped, more to herself than the other's in the room.

Kaiba eyed her steadily.

Just as she clambered through the doors, she was pulled into a tight hug around the waist.

She heaved inarticulately, "What on-?"

"Serenity!" Mokuba grinned, looking up at her face that was still panting, though in delight.

"Hello, Mokuba - nice of you to visit me on my first day," she replied, equally pleased to see him.

"I'm so glad it's you - I thought my brother had hired some ugly, old lady or something - but its you! This is great," he whispered.

Serenity giggled ever so slightly, "thank you for the reassurance, Mokuba." When she caught Kaiba eyeing her tersely, she quickly straightened up.

Mokuba gestured her a bit closer, " don't worry, Seto's not _that_ mean - he's really nice actually," he added with a wink, before departing for the door.

Serenity was full and set to believe anything but that - Seto Kaiba was far from nice in her book. In fact she normally would have believed that he was a tyrant ruling, ambitious, greedy person - which she suspected he was, however, considering the fact that he had indeed hired her, maybe he wasn't as bad as she originally made him out to be.

As secretary for Seto Kaiba, her pay would be high - even she knew; it was precisely why she had applied for such an unbalanced position, but she was willing to take the risk. And all the other girls she had run into were practically flaunting her with rude comments showing Serenity just how dense and jealous they truly were.

Prude, even.

As she would have put it, having dinner with a tree branch was just as effective as trying to get something on with Seto Kaiba. And truly, as far as everyone knew, she couldn't have put it in any better way.

"Sir - " She began, but was stopped shortly with a hand.

He stared at her with a calculative aura about him, "Unlike my brother, I do not care who you are as long as you work. So if you want to keep this job, don't be late tomorrow," he shot, tentatively.

Serenity nodded, somewhat glum - she had not been late, but rather just in time. Of course, to Kaiba that must have been considered 'late'. Such a serious person he was.

"Now - I assume you were told the direct jobs of your position. Here's your workspace, try not to dirty it."

Kaiba led her too an enclosed room inside his office. Serenity stared at the door with a questioning grimace. She would be working in a room, in Kaiba's office with no company and complete silence.

Besides, Kaiba didn't count as company.

Opening the lock on the door, the door creaked open as though it had not opened in several decades. She realized that this probably wasn't the best secretary office potentially available at Kaiba Corp.

"It's a bit dusty, but I'm sure you can do something about that," Kaiba drawled, pushing open the remainder of the door.

Serenity forced herself not to gap and the state of the office - correction, it looked more like a closet for excess cargo. 'A bit dusty' was an understatement. The so-called office looked as though a full-fledged war had broken out between the dust particles and whatever remains of furniture there was.

"It's so dusty!" Serenity blurted, unable to contain the comment anymore.

Kaiba stared at her dully, "and?"

"How do I work here? The furniture's dusty and the equipment is ancient."

Kaiba couldn't disagree on that one - the Kaiba Corp technology in that dusty old shack was probably made before Kaiba was even alive, and that fact spoke volumes to him. However, if was amusing nonetheless to watch the girl fumble over such non-trifling matters. This was Kaiba Corp, not some third-rate vender across the street - if he wanted, he could clean that room up with a nod of his head.

But he wasn't about to do that just yet - the girl should realize just how difficult working for Kaiba was. And so he walked back to his chair, took a seat, and got back to work.

Serenity stared at him, frowning now, "Sir , this room is practically inhabitable. How do you expect me to work in there? Isn't there any other place outside your room that I can work in?"

Kaiba never did glance up from his screen, "you're a secretary, not a worker - you must stay close, and this is the closest place here."

"But it's dirty, how am I-"

"Don't get all sanitarian on me, grab a broom and get cleaning."

Serenity felt her jaws unhinge for the third time that day, and she had only been here for under an hour. "But-"

"Hurry up - you have other work to do," he cut in.

Serenity held in her anger and threw her bag on the couch, then she proceeded to go find a 'broom' if she could. Walking to the other side of the office, she found another door with supplies inside. In the amidst of the various boxes and papers, she found a small cleaning spray and an object which looked similar to a broom.

_This will have to do_, she thought silently.

As Serenity made her way back to the dirt filled room, Kaiba watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She rolled up her sleeves up and tied her scarf around her nose - Kaiba inwardly suppressed a chuckle. At this rate, she would indeed end up cleaning the room.

She stared grotesquely into the dim lit room, wondering how such a dirty place came into existence, and how it found itself in Kaiba's office.

Entering, she began her expedition across the room, as she shifted from various surfaces, and began dusting along the walls, up the furniture and across the floors. Kaiba watched silently for another two hours as she reached the heights on the walls and the small corners around the floor.

It was quite the site.

And given the occasional expressions of loath she was throwing at him, Kaiba could safely say that she would resign from her position by the end of the day. It would be glorious, and he would feel extremely smug about it. Leaning back in his chair, he smirked ever so slightly, watching her bent form picking out the rubble.

"Mr. Kaiba!" She yelled, from the depths of the room.

"Hmmm?"

She glared at the sudden casualness in his voice, and her look hardened further when she saw that the man was simply perched back in his chair, staring at her with lazy eyes.

She stood up; brushing the dust of her light dress, "how do expect me to work in this now? I've taken care of the dust, but the furniture is old, and so is the equipment, at most I'll need a replacement for all of these items," she exasperated.

Kaiba rose from his chair, "you're really in no position to complain - now I suggest you work with what you have right now."

Serenity looked flabbergasted, "work with what, exactly?" She hissed, "there's nothing in here that's workable with - I can't access any of the companies systems off that old box!" She directed a finger at the so-called computer sitting on the so-called desk.

Really, it was a wonder none of that stuff had collapsed yet.

Even Kaiba inwardly agreed.

Still, he pressed further.

"Then I guess you'll just have to do it the old fashion way," he said pointedly.

Serenity looked slightly livid at this point - was the man trying to raise her anger to the extent that she got fired? If so, she wasn't falling for it - she was no simpleton and was not going down without a fight of her own.

"Mr. Kaiba, if you are expecting me to use a pencil and paper to record all the company data for the time being, then you are highly mistaken," she simpered.

Kaiba merely raised a brow at her rebellious antics.

Did she not realize that she was walking on thin ice right now?

"Then I suggest you leave," he replied coldly, "if you can't handle using a pencil, then I made a big mistake when I hired you."

Serenity ignored him, "I wonder , do you get _all_ your workers to use a pencil and paper to do their work? I highly doubt it," she answered, "besides, I'd hate believe that Seto Kaiba managed to raise a multi-million dollar company by having every one do it 'the old fashioned way.' Especially considering that fact that your company is promoting advancements in technology, not retreating them," she smiled coyly.

Damn.

Kaiba lips drew into a thin line.

She had him there.

Not only did she do her research, but there was absolutely no way he could fire her now - but Kaiba did however wish to grab her by the shoulders and give her a good, thorough shake before throwing her out the window.

Really, if only he could.

Kaiba stood there for a few moments longer before snapping towards the phone and pressing a few buttons. Within seconds, around half a dozen men entered the room and dived straight into Serenity's dirty office. She watched in awe as the men worked quickly, replacing her furniture, desk accessories, computers, blinds, even a few chairs and a sofa. Blanched, she watched for another good thirty minutes, before the men departed without a word.

Serenity stared blankly at the door, before meeting Kaiba's smirking gaze at his table.

"I should have notified the building cleaning services earlier. No matter, it's all good now," he directed, gesturing to her lavished settings in her now gleaming office.

"How - y-you...why? But-"

"Well, what are you waiting for, a medal? Get to work."

And thus, Serenity silently cursed Seto Kaiba to the depths of hell for the remainder of the day.

* * *

And there's chapter two - I guess I will be continuing this story :)

Reviews are greatly appreciated, people!

'Til next time~


	3. Fan Mail

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Serenity recalled her cursing Kaiba to the pits of hell for the remainder of that day - she still couldn't believe that the whole 'clean the office by yourself while I sit and watch' was simply a torture method that Kaiba had personally tested on her. Much less to say, his little act had more so made her angry than torture her.

Granted that he didn't bring up the incident again, Serenity was grateful for that. And so the next day, she came to the office before him after he thoroughly lectured her 'not to be late'.

And while Seto Kaiba came to work at four in the morning, Serenity made the incredulous decision and effort to come at three.

It was quite troublesome.

Arriving at the steps of the office at three in the morning right before the streaks of orange could reflect on the glass windows, Serenity nodded at the body guards and made her way to the front desk, stopping every now and then to see how many people were there.

Surprisingly, there were quite the number of committed workers already bustling around with papers, and proto-types. She watched in avid enthusiasm as she made her way up to the top floor - Kaiba's floor. His floor, unlike the rest, was deserted, dark, and cold. She suspected that no one came here with the exception of Kaiba, a few personal bodyguards that roamed the halls and anyone else who was simply asking to be shot with their presence in the disclosed area of the building.

Pulling out the extra pair of keys to his office - she was forced to have them at any cost - she slowly slid the glass door open and flicked on the only light in the office. It really didn't make a difference. Sighing, she decided to make a note of telling Kaiba of the many interior changes he should make to his office. Really, if looked as though someone had died in there recently.

She walked over to her own door by the side of his desk and made her way inside. She had to admit, those men had done a pretty nifty job of spoofing up her trashed office - the new sofa was looking unbearably welcoming. Loftily, she sat down at her desk, feeling suddenly exhausted.

It was three in the morning - what did she expect?

In any case, breakfast would have to wait, as she had to update and catch up on work from the time lost yesterday. Serenity got straight to it, as she pulled up files on the computer and from the shelves in his office, making interviews, and setting dates - and the oddest of them all, reading Kaiba's fan mail.

The simple notion of Seto Kaiba receiving fan mail on a daily basis was perturbing in its own way. Serenity frowned at the massive pile of assorted colored envelopes. She dismissed the letters, clearing knowing that Kaiba himself would never answer any of them; the pile was the last of her priorities.

As she continued to type formalities to a company, she heard the door latch open. Serenity checked the clock - it was only 3:45.

Kaiba sauntered into the room, and drew open the curtains. The morning rays had yet to come, and the dark skies still suggested that is was nighttime.

"Good morning ," Serenity called from her office.

Kaiba's head snapped around at the sound of another's voice. If he hadn't been Seto Kaiba, he would have given some sort of reaction aside from a brooding look. However plain his response had been, inwardly he was somewhat perplexed at her sudden urge to come earlier than he had. He figured it had something to do with the fact the he had almost fired her yesterday when she was _on_ time.

But that was just a wild guess.

He gave a curt nod in her direction, and got straight to work.

Occasionally, he would glance at her working through the open door. She was focused, which he assumed since her head was hunched close to the screen and her brows furrowed as she addressed the text on the screen.

Clearly, attempting to fire her would be harder than expected.

Great.

It was after three hours of unbecoming silence that Serenity's voice rang through the rooms.

"Mr. Kaiba - your fan mail...it seems you get a lot?" She asked, as she curiously rummaged through the pile.

Kaiba glanced up at her, "were you expecting I get none?"

She shook her head shyly, "no, I just didn't expect you get so many."

"That pile in your room is only a quarter of it - the rest is in the storage if you have time to reply to all of them," he stated.

Serenity almost rolled her eyes - wonderful, the man had a stash of fan mail for her to answer.

Nonetheless, she got right to it. Inwardly, she was curious beyond measure as to what sort of person would mail Kaiba - well, anything for the matter. Her curiosity was met with absurdity, as most of the letters turned out to be overly expressive girls and boys who, in their letters, sounded like they wanted to marry Kaiba.

Really, really badly.

She cringed at some of them - some people really had to keep their private thoughts to themselves. However, occasionally, she would come a across a heart-warming individual who simply wanted to thank Kaiba and quoted, 'aspired to be like him one day.' Serenity didn't appreciate that thought too much either.

One Seto Kaiba was plenty.

After answering a few, she realized the silence was slowly killing her, and wondered how Kaiba managed to stay mute for this long.

" Mr. Kaiba?"

"What is it?" He snapped.

As a person, Kaiba was never used to people talking - especially people who wanted to talk to him. Unfortunately for him, Serenity was the opposite - she needed to talk no matter what.

"There's a company letter addressed to you in the fan mail."

Kaiba turned his head towards her now, "Is it relevant to anything?"

He immediately regretted that thought when he witnessed the odd look fall upon her face.

"Err - they're wondering if you...if you'd be willing to fund their, ah - their brothel."

"...Excuse me?"

Serenity blushed ever so slightly, "their uhm bro-"

"I heard what you said," he cut in, "I just can't believe it."

"Should I err - reply?"

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose, "send them decline letter and throw in a threat or two," he said.

Serenity grinned, "yes, sir - also, what do you want me to do with these marriage proposals, and scandals. Some girl claims you're the father of her child," she added, raising a brow at the galling sheet of paper.

Kaiba threw a speculative stare at Serenity, which practically read, 'burn that offensive shit, pronto.'

"Get rid of it - I don't have time for such childish antics," he hissed.

Serenity nodded - she couldn't wait to throw all that mail away. As she was doing so, Serenity saw a letter amongst the piles that was not addressed to Kaiba, but her - news of her job sure travelled fast. And the mailing services travelled even faster.

She gently picked the yellow envelope out, " - there's a letter addressed to me," she glanced at him.

Kaiba got up from his seat and grabbed the letter from her hand. He swiftly ripped it open and read it. Although is face betrayed no emotion, Kaiba was inwardly cringing and, if possible - blushing.

The person was clearly a man - or a young perverted boy.

Whichever one it was, the context of their writing was simply a list of erotic things they wanted to do...to his secretary. He eyed Serenity over the paper, as she glanced at him, eager to know what it said. Kaiba wasn't going to tell her whether it was good or bad, either way.

"Sir? What does it say about me?" She asked, leaning closer.

He swiped the letter away and placed it back in the envelope.

"Nothing - nothing at all."

Serenity frowned, "but, I want to know what it says-"

"Its says they're happy for you, okay? Now shut up and get back to work."

Serenity nodded, raising a quizzical brow, as she returned to her table. Kaiba stared at the delusional girl - she didn't actually believe that did she?

Grimacing inwardly, he pulled out the letter and finished reading it.

_The nerve of this man,_ he thought.

The letter, as he would have summarized it, was an erotically written scene where this 'man' was doing various things to Serenity that one should never do with the curtains open. Kaiba was baffled, and although he tried his best not to create visual images of the letter for even the briefest of moments, the man's written work was so intricately put, it was hard not too.

He felt his brain screaming as it tried to banish the world's most lewd thoughts.

Kaiba then decided that a personal paper shredder would do well in his office.

Really well.

Groaning, he shoved the letter inside his desk, and made a personal note to himself to remind his bodyguards and workers to keep a better lock on their mouths.

" Mr. Kaiba - "

"If this is another complaint of yours, I don't wanna here it," he stated coldly. He had, had just about enough of her for one day - why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut and get on with life?

He watched her eyebrows furrow in anger as she spoke, "as you're secretary, it is my_ job_ to communicate with you," she imposed.

Kaiba gave a hollow chuckle, "yes, but that does not involve asking stupid questions everything five minutes, does it, Miss secretary?" He taunted.

Serenity really didn't understand what was wrong with this man. "Sir," she pressed, swallowing her anger, "even if my questions are stupid, I need someone to answer them. "

Kaiba stared, "I hear admitting the problem is the first step to solving it, and seeing as how you fancy yourself stupid, I take it you know how to solve it. And the answer is not me, I assure you," he smirked.

If there was any assortment of sharp objects in that room, between the two of them, Kaiba would be a dead man, and Serenity would be a convicted murderer.

But at this point, she didn't mind.

He had after all, indirectly called her stupid.

"I think you're being rather rude, sir."

"And I think you're being annoying."

"But that's no-"

"Get back to work before I have the urge to fire you - _again_."

Serenity felt like pulling her hairs out, while she walked back to her office. Silently, she slammed the door behind her, so she wouldn't have the urge to throw a table at Kaiba. Inside, she began working again, increasing her pace to blow of some steam. It was working quite well - well enough till 10:00 in the morning, when she realized that she had been at the office since three and eaten nothing but half a piece of bread.

Her stomach grumbled on cue, only furthering her urge to go eat.

And so she did.

Sliding off her chair, Serenity walked out her door and didn't let go of the fact that Kaiba didn't even bat an eyelash - that was until she reached the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Serenity didn't miss a beat, "to eat, obviously - you see, unlike some people, I have actually have human needs and wants, and at the moment food is one of them, so excuse me," she said turning back around.

"Take one step out of the office and you're fired," Kaiba glared.

She still had the nerve to turn her back to him.

What a girl.

Glancing over her shoulder, Serenity gave a small smile, "I wonder what I can do with all this information on Kaiba Corp once I'm fired," she wondered innocently.

Kaiba felt a pit cave in his stomach.

"I mean, I've only been here two days - but all that information off the computer and-"

She said no more, as Kaiba was already pacing towards in anger.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" He seethed, towering over her frame.

Serenity held her ground, "no, but if you intend to fire me because I'm going to eat food, then I think I just might_, Kaiba_," she stressed.

Her lack of formalities at the front of his name was highly calming and reminded him of how she used to be. Her stubbornness shone with pride now, but his did as well.

"I never knew we were on a first name basis, _Serenity,"_ he hissed back.

And she decided, regrettably, that she liked the way her name rolled of his tongue, especially since he was angry.

Odd.

"We're not, but if you want to, we can be," she retaliated. Her back was now touching the glass door, as he leaned closer.

"I don't think I want to - I prefer the 'Sir' and 'Mr. Kaiba'," he smirked back.

She glared at him, "you're infuriating."

"And you're dim-witted."

She gaped, "how can you say that - I've been working perfectly fine, but you simply refuse to cooperate!"

"If anyone should be cooperating around here, it's you - besides I've been running this company fine without a secretary."

She looked somewhat hurt now and inwardly, Kaiba - though he would never admit it - felt ever so slightly guilty.

Just a little.

No more than a pixel.

"Fine, excuse me," she said, covering her face and brushing past him to grab her bag.

Kaiba stared at her, as she exited the room. Muttering quietly, he called out to her departing form.

"15 minutes and no more - one minute over that and I'll seriously fire you."

Serenity spun around, breaking into a smile - her eyes were glossy, but nothing more. She nodded a thank you, and briefly stopped to say something before shaking her head and running out the office.

Kaiba sat down in his chair, and leaned back, as the mornings' rays took flight higher into the sky.

He was perplexed.

The more he tried to fire her, the more he couldn't.

_This is ridiculous,_ he inwardly thought.

And with that, Kaiba went back to work.

* * *

Ha - Kaiba's firing plans are terrible. Or maybe Serenity just knows all too well ;)

Anyhow, reviews are appreciated, people!

Cheers, til' next time~


	4. Field Trips

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

A week had passed since Serenity had successfully managed to maintain her job as well as dignity, more or less. Of course, she wasn't the only content person in that building. Mokuba had managed to gain a jet ski, after Kaiba grimaced home on a Saturday night with the news. Much less to his amusement, Mokuba threw a fit, saying that someone had 'replaced Seto's brain' and went on babbling incoherent phrases regarding Kaiba's sudden act of kindness.

Of course, Kaiba stayed mum the entire time, refusing to admit that he only bought the jet ski because he lost the bet with himself which related entirely to Serenity managing to last a week in the position of a Secretary.

Things could not get anymore embarrassing for him.

Unfortunately, they would.

And they did.

At the start of a new week, Serenity came flouncing into the office, her usual soft aura around her. She was convinced that coming to the office at the three in the morning was crazy, unless the job called for it, which it so far hadn't. So in turn, Serenity started arriving at six instead, which ultimately decreased the bags under her eyes, as well as Kaiba's blood pressure.

The mutual agreement was done non-verbally, as Kaiba seemed to have no qualms with her arriving at six.

"Good morning, ," she smiled, walking into her portion of the office.

"Hn."

Serenity glanced at him from her chair as she noticed his sudden change in apparel - instead of his usual attire, he donned all black today, and she had to say, it suited him unbearably well.

She tried no to stare rudely, but failed to no avail when he caught her red handed.

"Do you need something?" He asked impatiently.

She snapped out of her trance, "no, sir - I just...you look nice today!" She blabbered, covering her mouth at once.

Kaiba stared at her, before he slowly whipped out his signature smirk, "I look good everyday - it comes with the job."

Serenity nodded, "but still - it ehm, suit you. Black is totally your color," she added, before spinning her chair back around and getting back to work to avoid further awkwardness.

Really, carrying a conversation out with Seto Kaiba was equivalent to talking to yourself.

Kaiba said nothing in turn, but Serenity could feel his eyes boring into her back. It was an odd feeling, and she felt like spinning around and telling him to get back to work - of course, that would be a bit hypocritical of her, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Kaiba returned to work, still amused with her childish compliments - yes, he had adorned all black, but in case she hadn't noticed, so had she. Her orange-blonde hair was held loosely with a black clip followed by a black button up shirt, with a black blazer and a black pencil skirt - and of course, her black pumps.

If anything was darker than the wall color in his office, it was those two.

Kaiba continued working, typing away on the computer when the true problem of the day - or month rather - came.

Summer heat.

Inwardly, Kaiba congratulated himself, as he realized he couldn't have made a stupider decision than wearing black that day.

Glancing over at Serenity, he noted that she looked utterly effected by the heat, as she wiped her brows with the back of her hand. Just what happened to the AC in the building? Kaiba could only wonder, but figured that who ever was keeping it this high had to be fired right away.

Steadily getting up, he made his way to the door when she called out. " Sir, where are you going?"

"Do you need to know?" He questioned tartly.

Serenity stepped out from her office, biting her lip, "would it be wrong if I did?"

No it wouldn't, he realized.

And so he told her.

Her face lit up, "ah, the air conditioning...why is it set so low?"

"Some idiot probably forgot to change the settings to go by seasons," he responded, "but only I have direct access to the buildings main system."

Serenity nodded, "can't you do it off your own computer since it directly has access to every other system in the building?"

Kaiba snapped his head around, and narrowed his eyes, "how do you know this?"

"I naturally guessed you would," she replied sheepishly.

He really did have to perform a double background check on this girl. After all, he preferred to conduct snooping without the persons notice, and without physically interacting with them. Talking just wasn't his thing, but recently, he seemed to be doing a lot of it.

"I don't have access to the settings for the AC of my computer. It's something that has to be manually coded into the system," he responded, had headed out the door before she could pester him with further questions.

He had enough work to do as it was.

"Can I come?"

He stopped short outside the door at the sound of those words?

_Could she come?_ Kaiba hissed mentally.

Could she come?

This wasn't some field trip he was hosting for her, and clearly, this was something she didn't understand. He was Seto Kaiba - and Seto Kaiba went anywhere, and everywhere, alone.

He was hoping he didn't have to spell it out for her, but she was making the days in his life twice as difficult as they normally would be. Although, granted, thanks to her, his schedules and company information had been unusually organized and clean, making it easier for him to work. And he would never admit it, but this prospect actually made his life easier.

He said nothing and simply walked out the door, leaving her clueless figure standing alone in his office.

But she wasn't clueless for long.

Kaiba heard the soft tampering of heels against the carpeted floor, as she rushed to catch up with him. She stopped short, a few feet behind him, but kept her pace evenly with his long legs.

"So where's the systems main frame? I haven't had the chance is familiarize myself with this place yet," she added, as he pressed the elevator button.

Inside the elevator, Kaiba pressed the button located at the bottom of the long line of various buttons. Serenity casually glanced at him, as he stared forward, "so its located just below the basement," she thought aloud.

Kaiba made it quite clear through the remainder of their trip to the floor below the basement, that he would not be talking. Serenity found this to be problematic but after awhile, she didn't ask anymore questions or make any comments. Engaging in a conversation with him was quite close to impossible, unless work related.

"We're here," he finally spoke, as they entered a dim lit hallway that extended seamlessly into darkness. Serenity shivered, as she glanced around the empty hall - nothing was there with the exception of a password device, which she assumed would give Kaiba access to the collection of assorted wires that made up that floor.

The two walked down the cold metal floors, as Kaiba glanced back to see Serenity nervously gazing around at the dull place. It was kept this way for a reason of course. Reaching the end of the hallway, Serenity noted that the other end, which she had just come from, appeared dark - she figured it was a trick of the lights.

Kaiba quickly pressed a few digits and proceeded with an eye scan along with a personal bio scan. Serenity stood behind him in silence, staring at his back. Before stepping inside, Kaiba turned back to Serenity for the first time since they had come down.

"You can wait here or go back," he stated. If she did come inside, he could probably convince her to fire herself - but then again, that was highly unlikely in her case, as he found from past experiences.

Serenity shook her head, taking it more as an invitation than an option, "no, I think I'll come inside."

Kaiba said nothing, but simply paced into the darkness, flicking on two lights located on the right wall. It did little difference, as the collection of boxes and tangled wires became somewhat visible. Serenity stared in awe at the wide variety of circuits and cords flying out of different outlets.

She had been so preoccupied in her thoughts, Serenity failed to notice Kaiba's absence. Frantically looking around, she paced forward into the labyrinth of wires.

" Mr. Kaiba!" She called out.

When Serenity got no response, she started to worry; the only sounds she heard was the only clicking of her heels against the metal floor, and the occasional twitch of a wire beside her. This place would make, as Serenity decided, the ultimate haunted house.

It was a wonder that no one had died down here yet.

_Unless I'm the first_, Serenity meekly thought, as she made her way further into the darkness.

She stopped when she heard a small clicking behind her. She froze in spot.

"Mr. Kaiba" she called out softly again. A gush of cold air ran behind her, and she felt the hairs on her neck stand.

Slowly she turned around but was met with darkness - her eyes widened ever so slightly, as the air around her warmed once more. The heat down there was tenfold times hotter than it was upstairs.

She heard another soft click and quickened her pace into the darkness, "Kaiba," she said, dropping the suffix, "if this is some kind of sick joke, it's not funny."

But of course, she knew all too well that Seto Kaiba never joked.

Biting her lip, she turned around, before tripping gracelessly onto something hard.

"Ouch."

"What, pray tell, are you doing?"

Serenity gasped, realizing whom she had landed on. There, below her, Seto Kaiba stared at her with his cold blue eyes, questioning and angry.

"Oh. There you are."

"Get off me."

"Where were you - I looked everywhere, sir. Please don't disappear like that without my notice, it's not ve-"

"I said get off," he bit out again.

Seriously, was this girl trying to die?

Serenity nodded, as she noticed her position - cradling his chest between her thighs and her hands sprawled beside his own, she mentally awarded herself for falling in the most awkwardly intimate position ever possible.

And that too, with Kaiba.

It was there and then she wondered as to why he hadn't already fired her.

"Right," she breathed, getting up, "it's hot down here," she commented.

Kaiba was inwardly thankful for her change of subject, and he attempted to seal away her clumsy fall on top of him, for the sake of professionalism and pride.

"The system here is always working. Of course it would be hot," he replied nonchalantly, as though talking to a five year old.

That fact did not go unnoticed by Serenity as she frowned, "what were you doing down there anyway," she gestured to the dark corner he had been momentarily hunched over.

"What I came to do."

"So the AC for the office is fixed?"

"What do you think?"

Serenity nodded, reddening at her stupid question. Of course it was fixed - this was Seto Kaiba after all. She heaved lightly as the heat was getting to her and turned to Kaiba to see if he was affected to any extent, but the man's demeanor was cold as stone as he turned back and started pacing languidly in the direction they had just come from.

" Thank you for showing me around," she added, brushing to his side.

He held in a snort, "I don't think that matters. The way you were calling my name seemed like you were scared senseless."

Serenity stopped in spot, "you heard me?"

"Who wouldn't? This place is dead quiet."

"How come you didn't reply?"

"Why should I? I didn't ask you to accompany me here," he shot back, accusingly.

Serenity couldn't say no to that one - she had, undeniably come on her own will. But still, would it kill him to let her know where he had been? Clearly, it wouldn't.

"Still - you could have answered," She retaliated pointedly, as he turned around to face her.

"And why should I?"

"Because I was scared!" She jabbed a finger in his chest, and he stared at it as though it was the most offensive object that had ever touched his person.

Grabbing her hand, he threw it off his chest, "that's your fault, not mine." With that being said, he turned around and continued walking. She had to admit, it was in a way, her fault.

"Would it kill you to be human and care for someone for even a second, Mr. Kaiba?" She called out to his retreating form.

He stopped in spot again, "it would actually - and I don't have time to sacrifice mine for another dim-witted fool."

Her anger boiled and Serenity was about to speak again, when he deliberately stopped her.

"Listen, one more word down here, and you can consider leaving this job. Go back upstairs and get to work," he directed.

Serenity held in a growl, and brushed past him, making her way back - _without_ him.

On her way back, she personally vowed to make Seto Kaiba's life a living hell, and along the way, teach him the art of being human. Because the way the way he was progressing clearly showed her that human was not a term in his dictionary.

Silently, she grinned and shoved her anger away, devising her ultimate plan.

_Seto Kaiba, welcome to hell - population one: You._

* * *

Heh - cheers for their first intimate interaction which Kaiba brushed off way too casually, ha ha. Gods, this pair is ridiculously fun - I seriously gotta calm down!

Reviews are appreciated, ya'll! :)

Till' next time!


	5. Intimate Coffee

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was not an idiot - far from it.

He was aware.

Aware of everything and anything.

He was aware of _her._

Secretly, unbeknown to Serenity, Kaiba had been watching her - not in the stalking manner, but simply watching. Watching and waiting, rather. He was waiting for her to make a move; after he threatened to fire her _again_, Serenity had angrily marched out of the basement and had not spoken anything non-businesses related to him at all. No 'Mr. Kaiba this, Mr. Kaiba that,' which he appreciated greatly, yet still felt unusually herald by it.

It was like waiting for a ticking bomb to explode.

The calm before the storm.

And there he was, waiting for the tempest.

Kaiba was ready, he always was.

But it didn't come - it hadn't come for two days, and Seto Kaiba hated to be in the position where he considered himself 'worrying'. Least to say, unfortunately, he was worrying now.

She entered the office in her usually carefree yet prepared attitude and went straight to her office, but not before uttering a small 'good morning' towards Kaiba. He simply acknowledged her presence with a slight nod of his head. And that was it - he didn't hear another peep from her general direction until the clock struck ten in the morning and she left for a quick breakfast with his permission.

In 14 minutes and 59 seconds, Serenity stood at the door with a pleased smile on her face. Kaiba felt a sudden urge to leave the room, but stayed glued to his computer screen nonetheless. Walking over to him, she placed a cup of coffee on his desk.

"Here , I thought a cup of coffee would do you well - you know, since you were up last night having a conference with the gaming executives in America," she noted.

He stared at the white mug as if it was the most disturbing thing to ever enter his office - and Kaiba recalled off the many, many disturbing things he had witnessed here at Kaiba Corp since the age of 7.

For a while, he didn't respond. His head was silently coming up with the thousands of possibilities as to what the contents of the cup were. Was it secretly a poison she had devised in order to kill him? Was there too much sugar to make him high? Too much caffeine to make him die maybe?

There were a billion possibilities.

She stared intensely at him, tilting her head, "is something the matter, sir?"

Kaiba closed his eyes, "nothing at all."

"Is the coffee not towards your liking?"

Yes.

Now he was certain that she had something planned.

He blankly stared up at her, which wasn't much of a height difference given his lengthy body. "The coffee is fine. Get back to work."

Serenity simply gave a curt nod and waddled back to her desk, but not before throwing a small smile in his direction. Kaiba cringed. He stared at the coffee and cringed once more.

He suppressed the prodding idea of taking the mug and simply chucking it out the top floor window. Hell, even the consequences for that were something he would be willing to pay, much less drink the contents of that so-called coffee mug.

And so he left the drink untouched and cold for as long as he could, until Serenity came back, holding a few papers.

"Sir, there's an invitation from, Mr. Pegasus," she spoke, walking up to his desk, "he's invited you to a banquet party on his island next week. There are also a few reported failures in some of the Kaiba Corps products, should I make a recall or-?"

"Don't make a recall - they're probably cheap scam ones created for personal sale, which is illegal in any case. Just send them a new product with extended maintenance time and ask the guards to find the creators of the scam ones, as for Pegasus, tell him I decline," he retaliated, turning back to his computer.

"Alright, Sir - and your coffee? Would you like me to heat it? Make a new batch perhaps?"

Kaiba stiffened once more, "no thanks, I like it cold."

But Serenity didn't leave.

If possible Kaiba would have liked to pick her up by the shoulders and shove her back in her own office. If she didn't leave in the next thirty seconds, he would consider firing her for what was probably the hundredth time that week, however good of job she was doing in the office.

"Is there a problem?" He snapped, glaring at her now.

Serenity sighed, "yes - see right there, that's the problem."

"Really? The only problem I see right now is you."

"See that - exactly, you always do _that_! Stop being so ridiculous, it's just coffee."

"I can see that. Now leave."

"No you can't! This coffee situation merely confirmed my doubts. If you aren't even willing to drink a cup of coffee prepared by your secretary, then how much trust do you put in everyone else?"

"None. I pay them."

Serenity rolled her eyes, "I'm not poisoning you. It's just coffee, Sir. Have some faith in people aside from yourself."

"Faith is for losers," he bashed back, utterly perturbed as to where her sudden confidence was coming from.

Serenity ignored his remark and continued, "but would it kill you to be open with me? I get it if you don't like coffee, but just _tell_ me that. I'm your secretary," she spelled out, "you're_ supposed_ to use me."

Kaiba stared at her as if she had just given him permission to touch her in ways every man would want to.

But Serenity failed to notice that. "If there's anyone in the building you can trust, it's me."

"Trust does not come so easily," he snarled back, "this isn't some small job that's just handed to anyone. And I hope you realize that. This is Kaiba Corp. and as the CEO I don't need any help. So you can take your trust and shove it back up your-"

"I'm not asking you to start trusting me with your life," she cut in, flabbergasted that this man still had the audacity to inform her of his position and power when she was trying to help.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of trusting you with it," he retaliated.

Serenity, felt her head drumming now, "can't you just normally talk to someone without being such an ass, Kaiba ?"

Kaiba glared daggers at her so hard that if looks could kill, Serenity would have died on the spot there and then.

He abruptly stood up, "what did you just call me?"

She crossed her arms, "you heard me the first time, why should I repeat it?"

Kaiba slammed his hands down on his desk, and in the process watched as the white mug spilled its dark liquid contents onto Serenity.

The room went silent.

Kaiba stared at her cream colored shirt, which now began to stain a dark brown.

Hey, at least it wasn't warm.

Serenity appeared blanched as she stared down at her shirt, gaping, and then back at Kaiba, who still had his hands planted to his desk where he had slammed it out of growing anger. The coffee spilling afterwards wasn't meant to happen. Serenity looked for a reaction, but Kaiba was stiff as a stone, and was staring gallantly at her shirt.

She sputtered indignantly, "What did you do?"

"I think that's pretty obvious."

Serenity glared at him now, "this was my favorite shirt."

"Buy a new one."

"It was expensive!"

"So?"

"This is you're fault."

"Hardly."

"What do you mean hardly? It's _always_ your fault!"

"I beg to differ."

"The least you can do is apologize!"

"I consider that decision to be completely one sided."

Serenity let out a furious sigh, before she began unbuttoning her blazer, "at least you can help me clean it up," she sighed in defeat. Kaiba moved out from his enclosed space, drawing closer to the furious girl. When Serenity became aware of Kaiba's presence, he was a mere few inches away from her face. She felt herself redden at his close proximity, and she unconsciously backed away.

"Stay still," he commanded, moving closer.

"Why?"

Now it was Serenity's turn to worry. Kaiba watched with suppressed delight as she squirmed away at his sudden change in behavior. Inwardly, he smirked.

"Sir-?" She asked, shying away, as he edged closer to her.

She felt her back hit the door to her office - he had her cornered. Before Serenity could protest, she felt Kaiba's nimble fingers on the buttons of her blazer, where she had left off. She raised her hands to grasp his own, but he flicked her small hands away, "shut up and stay still."

That was probably the hardest direction she had ever received from him: shut up and stay still. That was like asking her not breath at this point. Serenity watched with growing embarrassment as he reached the bottom button.

"Kaiba, this really isn't necessary," she said, biting her lip, pressing herself deeper to the wall, but he only inched closer. He was well aware how uncomfortable he was making her, and it was not long before Serenity realized this.

Frowning she griped his hands again, tighter though, "seriously, I'm fine - I'll just...what are you doing?"

She watched as he began unbuttoning her peach colored.

Now was an excellent time to flip and yell, 'Kaiba, get your fucking hands off me!'

But Serenity watched silently.

She was in Seto Kaiba's office.

Serenity was in Seto Kaiba's office watching him unbuttoning her shirt, which would expose much of her peachy skin, for the lack of better words. She felt her head snap back to reality, as she pulled his hand midway off her shirt, as he glanced up.

"Stop," she spoke.

"Hn."

She looked slightly livid, yet reddened all the same, "I can take care of it, Kaiba - I'm not five-"

"You said you wanted help, so here's your help," he countered, "unless of course, you're being hypocritical and had planned to spill the coffee on yourself to begin with to get some of my attention."

Kaiba just dropped the bomb.

If possible, Serenity would have liked to take her bag and thwart this man across the face with the strength of an enraged tribal army.

But she currently was in no position to do so.

"You," she said, poking his chest with her finger, "are the most mislead person I have ever met! I mean, how do you even get that sorry story out of all this?" She exasperated, gesturing to them.

"I'm misleading?" Kaiba snapped.

"Look who was doing all the acting. I didn't ask for coffee if I recall correctly," he hissed, and flipped their hands so hers were now locked inside his.

"You are such a prick, Kaiba," she replied flippantly, wiggling in his grasp. She gasped when she noticed that almost all of her wet shirt was now hanging open revealing a good portion of her...bra.

She reddened another tenfold if that was even possible.

"What's the matter? To prude to get your shirt cleaned?" He smirked, daring to push himself closer than he already was.

What was wrong with him today?

Moreover, what was wrong with her today?

Correction, what was wrong with them _everyday_?

Serenity realized how intimately close they had become in the last two minutes: his one hand had her hand now somehow pinned against the walls, while he wrestled with her remaining buttons as she frantically attempted to halt his efforts with her other hand.

Serenity then decided that sweaters to work would always be more suitable then easily accessible clothing. Never in her life did she think Kaiba - Seto Kaiba, would be touching her at such close proximity. Of course, she understood that all men had hormonal urges, however, she had never thought of Kaiba as a man - until now.

He was a full-fledged, male body, blue eyed, tall, chestnut haired man, whom many probably considered attractive.

She hardly knew what to say at this point. "...Kaiba, mind your manners, this is a working environment-"

"I'm glad you realize that," he cut in, loosening his grip a bit, "now keep that in mind in the future before strategizing a plot to humanize me."

Serenity stood awestruck - how did he know?

It was then she realized that this was Seto Kaiba - and he was not an idiot.

Nor was he stupid, or inexperienced in handling...women.

The two stared at each other as if trying to figure out one another's next move. Kaiba gazed at her with a look she guessed was something between victory, pride, and 'what-are-you-going-to-do-now?' Serenity, on the other hand was more occupied with the thought that her wet shirt was, at this point, quite see through.

Courtesy of Seto Kaiba of course.

She was about speak in defense of her plots, when the glass door abruptly slid open.

"Seto, you won't believe it! The jet ski...oh. Oh."

There stood Mokuba with four guards tagging behind him idly.

And then began the awkward silence of the century.

No one spoke for several minutes, as Mokuba stood there looking extremely smug, while the guards behind him were guffawed on the spot, mortified even, because when was Seto Kaiba ever caught with a girl, let alone caught touching her?

Kaiba himself looked half-stricken at first, like a deer caught in headlights, before his face masked his usual stern demeanor. Serenity on the other hand was a pile of jello from sheer embarrassment and unsheathed destructive anger that she wanted to throw at Kaiba. The both of them realized how wrong and suspicious their position appeared. After all, a girl pinned to the wall by another guy could only suggest so many things in the average persons mind.

After the awkward silence ensured, the group then began the act of simultaneously speaking together so that no one could understand a word that was exchanged.

"Seto," Mokuba blurted, "what are you doing?"

" Mokuba-"

Serenity was frazzled, "Mokuba this isn't what it looks like-"

"Actually it is."

"Kaiba, just shut up!"

"Sir, she just asked you to halt your speech, should we arrest her?"

"Quiet fools."

"Sir, what are you doing with your secretary?"

"I don't see how it concerns you."

"Kaiba move!"

"Seto, what are you-"

"Mokuba, I heard you the first time," Kaiba cut in.

"This isn't what it looks like!"

"Then what does _this _look like, Serenity?"

"Ew."

"Seto - maybe I'll just...uhm, come back later, okay?"

"Hn."

After the sudden appearance of Mokuba and Kaiba's guards, Serenity felt herself beet red. Kaiba moved out of their enclosed space and back to his desk as if nothing ever happened.

Serenity pulled herself onto the sofa, "what was all that?" She asked after a long stretch of silence, where she panted for air and he leisurely typed away.

"Listen, I'm well aware of your intentions of humanizing me, but allow me to inform you that this is how I am, and no mere girl such as yourself will change that, understand? I don't go around being happy and throwing confetti for my own pleasure like some people do."

Serenity listened carefully and nodded slowly.

"So just stick to your job as a secretary and let me do mine, and we won't have this sort of situation again."

Absorbing his words, Serenity got up, and excused herself to change after cleaning the spilled coffee on his desk.

On her way out, she mischievously eyed the coffee mug on Kaiba's desk and just for the heck of it, she said, "Sir, would you like another cup of coffee?"

"...Are you trying to get fired now?"

"Oh no, not at all, sir," she winked, before departing.

Kaiba held in a groan before he assessed the situation that had just happened. _What is wrong with her?_ He thought mentally, as he shifted through the files she had just organized for him.

Kaiba then vowed to inform all the employees that coffee was prohibited and if anyone was caught drinking any on a short notice without a lid cover, he would seamlessly fire them on the spot.

After that day, neither Serenity nor Kaiba ever saw coffee in the same light again.

* * *

Sorry Serenity, but you know, Kaiba's just sorta smart. He's know everything that goes down in his company ;)

Ah, I had way too much fun writing this chapter...but I think I'm having way more fun writing then next one write now - just a general big thank you to all the people who have been consistently reviewing this imperfection. Seriously, without ya'll, I wouldn't bother with this, so take some free hugs and handshakes *toss* yeahp - thanks.

Reviews are appreciated ya'll~


	6. Unwanted Visitors

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Serenity, to say the least, had been something close to traumatized after her sudden 'intimate moment' with CEO of a multi-million dollar company, Seto Kaiba. She still, even after six days, refused to believe that he had the sheer gal to unbutton her shirt without permission, even more so when she had asked him to stop.

But of course, the worst part was far more threatening that a simple moment of intimacy - the fact that his younger brother along with god knows who walked in on them in the spur of the moment left her baffled on the spot and mortified in embarrassment. Now, she was sure that Mokuba would keep his lips closed; however, the people that had been behind him were an entirely different story.

So it was only the next day that her co-workers started giving her a wide variety of looks - dirty looks, winks, encouragement, and anything between dismal and congratulations. It was into the third day that she finally grew used to the random greetings she received from people. It was no longer just a mere hello, her co-workers every now and then would drop a 'how's he doing?', 'did anything interesting happen?', 'bless you - you're changing Seto Kaiba, for the better!', 'Maybe he'll raise our pay...?'

Serenity shrugged them all off in a kind yet oblivious manner alongside displaying a fake smile. Really, these people.

Her biggest problem though, by the fourth day, was she had to wonder why Seto Kaiba himself hadn't said anything about the rumors revolving around the two. He almost seemed unknown to it, but Serenity knew all to well that he knew plenty.

Enough to stop them at least.

So it was there, on the sixth day where she sat stooped at her desk wondering deep in thought whether Kaiba just enjoyed putting her through the misery of these rumors, or he was entailed as too stupid to notice. Serenity put her bets on the first guess.

Sitting at her desk in feverish thought, she finally stood up and exited the room, but not before fixing her grey turtleneck in place, which still maintained her professional work appearance. Walking to Seto Kaiba's desk was the oddest feeling seeing as she hadn't done so in the past six days and had somehow managed to carry out her work just fine.

"Sir, we need to talk."

"If it's about the limited edition duel-disks coming out tomorrow, I'm not going to delay the production line any longer."

Serenity bit her lip, "yes, that and the other thing."

"What other _thing_?" Kaiba said, coldly.

"You know -_ that_," she said, hinting him to get the point. But Kaiba simply refused to do so, which only annoyed her further. She was certain that inside he was having a laugh out of this.

He didn't stop typing, but now glanced up at her clenched face, "no, I don't know_ that._ You're going to have to be more specific."

"Six days ago, sir - where you helped me clean _the spill_."

"Excuse me?"

"When you rudely unbuttoned my shirt sir, if that helps jog your memory," she blunted sweetly.

Kaiba gave a ghost of a smirk in her direction, "yes - that. What about it?"

Serenity felt her hands twitch - the urge to slap Seto Kaiba was unbecoming, but it was there. "I have noticed that many of the employees have heard about this...predicament," she began, "and no doubt there are a variety of rumors floating around, regarding-"

"Us," He cut in.

Her lips thinned, "yes. I was wondering, for the sake of both of us, if you could kindly put a halt to these...disturbances."

"...No."

Serenity felt her blood boil at those words. "No?"

"No."

She smiled ever so slightly to contain her anger, "may I ask why?"

"It's a waste of time and unnecessary. I've had no one come up to me and utter a word regarding these rumors."

_Of course not, because you're Seto friggen' Kaiba_, Serenity inwardly groaned. It would be considered suicidal to simply utter a casual 'hello' to Kaiba in the halls; it would be even worse to reportedly explain a rumor about _him_ to him.

"Yes, but they're giving me a bit of a difficult time and I was hoping-"

Kaiba interjected, "take your hopes else where. Like a said, no one has told me anything of the sort so my only statement would be that you're making false pretenses about my other employees creating rumors."

_The nerve of this man_, she inwardly screamed.

"Why on earth would I want to do that, sir ?" Serenity asked, her voice leveling by the minute.

"That is not something I can answer."

Those words hinted that their little conversation was over, but Serenity simply stood there, glaring death at the man before her. Another good five minutes past before she silently departed back to her desk, her face a mask of grim disgust. Kaiba watched her sober form from the corner of his eyes, before muttering phrases incoherently and getting back to work.

An impenetrable silence once again fell over the room. Serenity sensed that the rest of her days here would be spent like this - silently dying in Seto Kaiba's office whilst no one gave a damn.

Fortunately for her, two very insusceptible people did give more than a damn about her. Likewise, Kaiba found that because of his secretary, his office was never quiet no matter how hard he secretly prayed for it to be.

And just like that, another morning in the Kaiba Corp office came to short end. It was around two in the afternoon when Kaiba's ears picked up the unbearably large ruckus outside his office. At first he figured it was another obsessive employee trying to get a whiff of his hair, but the bickering continued for another several minutes, which made Kaiba eye the door sternly.

The screaming came to blunt end and Kaiba resumed his working, ignoring the sudden disturbance. It was not until his door burst open that Kaiba's eyes flew up at the intruders. He felt the world's worst migraine emerging through his temples as he stared at the familiar faces.

"Kaiba, you shit!"

"Sir we tried to stop them, but-"

Kaiba tersely eyed the several guards behind the two figures. If he recalled correctly, Kaiba hired guards to stop people, not kindly let them barge in where ever they pleased.

Why was he even paying them?

Silently, Kaiba held up a hand and motioned the guards out. He would have to handle this one alone. Nodding, the guards nervously left the room, and closed the door behind them. It had been a while since he laid eyes on these two.

"What's this I'm hearing about you hiring Serenity?" Tristan yelled, pointing a finger.

Duke crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall, "yeah, and you held her against her will too?"

"Actually, it was against the wall."

_How the hell does this stuff travel so fast?_ Kaiba thought mentally.

Tristan raised an angry brow, "even worse," he said curtly, "what are your ulterior motives?" He questioned, seething. Duke prodded forward beside him.

Kaiba leaned back in his chair, "I have none, but my own."

Duke narrowed his eyes, "please, even we have better ideas than that."

"Enlighten me," Kaiba replied dryly.

"Okay, how 'bout you trying to piss Joey off by hiring her? Or how 'bout just hiring Serenity for the heck of it, to embarrass her? Or how-"

"I assure you fools that if I had the time to do such things, I wouldn't be here right now. So you can take your pitiful reasons and get out," he cut in, icily.

The word 'fools' seemed to have impacted Duke more so than Tristan, as he edged closer to Kaiba desk, testing the dangerous waters. "Not before we see Serenity - just what exactly did you blackmail her to do, to work for you?" Duke stabbed.

Now this was interesting to Kaiba, "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, yes - a pardon you will beg-"

"Tristan shut up," Duke interjected, "what I mean, is that no one would willingly work for you. So the question is, what exactly did you tell her to do?" He pressed.

"Blackmail? That's rich," Kaiba scoffed, "you dim-wits should know that she came to be my secretary." Kaiba couldn't help but stress the word 'my' ever so slightly; he watched the gaping expressions appear on their faces.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Duke asked pointedly, clearly trying to intimidate.

"A Neanderthal and its handbag, why?"

Tristan turned a strange puce color, which, if Kaiba hadn't known was to indicate anger to match the situation, he would have guessed the guy was feeling constipated as hell. "How dare you-"

"I don't dare - I think that's more of your forte seeing as how you welcomed yourselves into my office without notice," he interjected swiftly.

Duke leaned on the table, "nice guards you have Kaiba."

"hn - I only pay them to direct humans out."

Tristan truly was at the verge of exploding on speech, "Kaiba, you are such a damn-"

"The handbag talks - great."

"What are-"

"What is going on out here - _guys_?"

Serenity had emerged from her office to check what god-forsaken person decided to anger her further.

"Serenity!" Tristan yelled, running up to her, but she silently marched passed him. She passed Duke as well and stopped short in front of Kaiba's desk.

"Why did you call them here?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at her, "you think I would call_ them_ here? They came here questioning you," he retaliated coldly. She stared at him, noticing a fleeting feeling that he was silently asking her to get rid of them. It was there, but just for a second.

Serenity spun around to face them, "what are you doing here?"

Duke raised a brow, "I think the question is, what are you doing here?"

"I work here," Serenity replied with a serene smile.

Tristan couldn't contain his silence any longer, "but why here?"

For once Kaiba had to agree with Tristan's words: Why work here? And he too was silently craving an answer from the girl in front of him. Serenity shook her head, "that's none of your business, but I can tell you that I'm happy working here, so you don't have to worry about me."

Duke placed a hand on her shoulder, "but with _him,"_ he said, eyeing Kaiba with a loathing passion.

Serenity's eyes hardened, "yes, with him."

"But he's a...a-"

"A what exactly?" Kaiba cut in tartly.

"A jerk."

"Egoistic bastard."

"Arrogant ass."

"I get it guys," Serenity exasperated, "but I can't have you bad-mouthing him right now. He's my boss you know," she replied with a generous grin.

Duke and Tristan looked as though their hearts had been thoroughly harpooned and then set to cook over the fire. Kaiba raised a questioning brow at her antics, but said nothing. Really, the less said, the better.

"But-"

"But nothing," she stated, crossing her arms.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Tristan glared at Kaiba, "I swear to god Kaiba, you lay a hand on her, and I'll take that big ass 'K' outside your building and shove it up your butt, got that?"

Serenity groaned into her palm, while Kaiba threw one of his profound smirks, "I'd like to see you try."

_Men, they're so ridiculously childish sometimes_, Serenity inwardly concluded.

"You call us if he bothers you," Duke added for good measure, as Serenity sighed, pushing the two towards the door.

"Yes, if I need anything I'll call you," she graced, and gave them a final push out the door.

"Joey will hear about this!" Tristan yelled, once outside.

The office was once again silent, and Serenity paced back towards her door, shutting it behind her. Kaiba gazed at her dark door for a few minutes, before picking up his office phone and dialing away.

"Yes - this is Seto Kaiba. I would like these ridiculous rumors to stop. No buts or you can tell your manager I'll stop funding your company's paper and I assure you anything else that makes your life pleasant will be gone too. No - no. No. Shut up. Yes, get it done_ now_."

Hanging up, Kaiba returned to his work, only to be interrupted moments later by a bustling Serenity. "Mr. Kaiba!" She yelled happily, clambering through her door.

Kaiba almost regretted calling the papers.

Almost.

"What?" He said snappily.

She breathed airily, "the rumors, you-"

"Yes I did."

"Why-?"

"Do you have a problem with everything?" He questioned back, quite annoyed at her ungratefulness.

She gave a smile of understanding before nodding, "no, sir - not at all."

And with that, Serenity returned to her desk, feeling happier than usual at the company. And while she would have liked to change her current perspective and thoughts about her CEO, Serenity realistically noted that one good deed was never enough.

_But it's a start_, she pointed out to herself. Smiling, she returned to work.

* * *

More characters, because - just because. No, but really, cause it works, and Serenity and Kaiba need some company every now and then, so I had Duke and Tristan join them ;)

Reviews are greatly appreciated!~

Excuse any spelling mistakes for now...I didn't quite edit this one - thanks!


	7. Sleeping Beauty

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Kaiba couldn't help but notice the sudden market rise in his company. Yes, he was rich, well known and incredibly high ranked, but in all his working life - which was indeed his whole life - Seto Kaiba had never seen such a remarkable boom in the overseas Kaiba Corp. products.

Really.

And as he figured, it had nothing whatsoever to do with his new, slightly irritating secretary. To say her presence around the office was helpful was an understatement. The girl was practically on fire when she worked. And in the duration of the four months she had been working there, Kaiba was certain that she had learned more about him besides his cold exterior.

She knew things, things most people wouldn't know even after years of working with him.

Serenity knew that he liked the papers on his desk all neatly stacked on the left side since he used the mouse with his right. She further surprised him when Kaiba found a copyright Kaiba corp. disc program that she casually claimed had just been lying around on bench near her home. Kaiba simply refused to believe that ridiculously foolish story, but made no intention of pry. Hell, the girl even knew that he liked all his fan mail in green envelops to be burned. In proof of that, he had found a stash of cinder fumes lying in the corner of her office space, ready to be thrown out.

He couldn't help but twitch in mild irritation at the thought of her prying. Kaiba knew secretaries were supposed to be helpful, but he didn't expect them to know him inside out.

Well, not literally at least.

And then one day, while Kaiba was perched in his comfy office chair, a sudden thought came to him. It was sudden - too sudden actually, as he abruptly stood up and started pacing.

He knew absolutely nothing about her.

Aside from her name and relatives of course, Kaiba realized he was a complete stranger to the girl.

_And why shouldn't I be? She works for me, _he muttered inwardly.

Even so, Seto Kaiba found it unfair that her knowledge about him reached extensive heights whilst his didn't. The sudden prospect that he was going to spy on his secretary nearly made him puke - since when had he sunk so low? If he wanted, he could fire and order her around at anytime, any place. Smirking lightly, Kaiba shrugged off his strange thoughts and went back to placidly typing.

Silence held the rooms' gravity, until the sound of heels against the floor brought Kaiba out of his working trance. He glanced at the door expecting her to enter any moment.

"Mr. Kaiba, I don't know what to say anymore," she stated, marching up to his desk and throwing a stack of what seemed to be invitation letters.

Crossing her arms, she watched as Kaiba rummaged through them, his looks revealing nothing. "I've already talked to Industrial Illusions head executive, but Mr. Pegasus insist you come to his banquet," she explained.

"Hm."

Serenity let out a small sigh, "this came with the letters as well," she said, tossing a red rose in his direction. Kaiba inwardly suppressed the urge to take the rose and burn it. He flicked it away as if it was contagious, in which case it could have been seeing as it came from Pegasus.

Serenity began stalking back to her office, "I mean, I don't know what other excuses to tell them?" She said, throwing her hands up and letting them fall by her side. "What should I say - the best I've got so far is that you're glued to your chair and you've come down with a bad case of fever after over-working yourself," she said, with a serious face.

Kaiba stared at her testily, knowing her clear intentions of making fun of him.

"I'll go."

"See, now I have to make something up, something real- what wait?"

He stared at her dully, "tell him, I will attend his stupid banquet next week."

Serenity nodded with a questioning brow, "will do, Mr. Kaiba."

With a slight nod of her head, Serenity paced back to her office, shutting the door behind her. She had been doing that a lot lately. Shutting the door on him. And at times he was curious to peak at what was doing and to make sure she was doing what she was supposed to be, which was working vigorously on his company's well being and success. He noticed that she now addressed him less as 'Sir' and used a simple .

It was an interesting development, and he hoped she would stop her pushing her toes close to the line because firing her at this point would be considered half suicidal - he would never admit it to any living soul that her work here had progressed the company's image into better lights. Serenity really did know what she was doing, regardless of her family history with Kaiba as well as his well-known impatience for any human in general.

Rubbing his forehead lightly, Kaiba let out a small groan before resuming his work. The office was once again filled with presumable silence, only the tapering of keys echoed through the room. Kaiba practically lived with the sound, thought with it, hell he even ate with it. The sweet silence was broken when Kaiba's phone rang abruptly; he had personally made sure to inform employees that if the situation wasn't from someone important or urgent, they could take their concerns elsewhere - somewhere people would actually give a damn.

He found this notice to be extremely helpful, as prank calls, as well 'other stupid' phone calls stopped dead.

"Hello-"

"Sir, we have an issue!" The person cut in from the other side.

Kaiba recognized the voice as one of his older bodyguards. "What is it?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

He heard a nervous gulp from the other side of the line, "well, you see, one of the smaller stores across the street had a slight accident - one of their electric polls fell into the main floor of this building - we ahm...well, they seem to be refusing to pay repercussions sir," he ended lamely.

Kaiba wondered how he had not heard the loud crash - he figured it had something to with him being around forty floors up, but then again, he was also engrossed in his work.

"I'll be there shortly - until then, wait it out," he replied icily.

The man on the other side sounded frazzled, "bu-but-"

Kaiba dropped the line dead before the man had a chance to complain. Sighing angrily, he pushed his chair out, before striding towards the door. As on cue, Serenity emerged from her door as well, popping open the lock behind her. He paid no attention, and headed straight down the hall.

"Oh, - are you headed out too?" She asked casually, running in step with him.

"No."

"Oh. Well, I'm off for my lunch break."

"Good for you."

"...Would you like to join me?"

"I don't eat lunch."

Serenity frowned, as the pair entered the elevator, "okay then."

Once again, the long up-held silence began and both Kaiba and Serenity were well aware of how long the elevator trip was from the top floor of the building to the main level. Serenity pressed the floor button and shifted slightly on her feet, inching away from Kaiba. Kaiba didn't failed to notice the action, and he too moved slightly away, forming the perfect gap between the two.

He could sense her eyes occasionally glancing at him, although he wasn't sure why. And when Kaiba turned around to speculate, Serenity once again found the cool metal walls beside her quite interesting. He took that opportunity to eye her again, noting her calm yet bashful demeanor, and her slightly awkward exterior.

Really, what was going on today?

A sudden halt of the elevator alerted the both of them that they had reached their destined floor. Kaiba paced forward expecting the elevator door to open any second, however to his great dismay, it failed to do so. And so he broke the silence.

"Shit."

Serenity gasped, "Mr. Kaiba , don't use such words on the premises!" She looked livid, and Kaiba tersely eyed her, regretting using that word so violently and publicly, but given the situation they were in now, and days - years even - worth of stress, he just had to let it out.

"We're stuck - the elevator's stopped," he deadpanned, wanting to submerge his fists into the cool metal. But instead, he did a very Kaiba like thing, and simply tucked them away in his pocket, fighting back the urge.

Serenity immediately jumped to the press the fire alarm button. But Kaiba's words stopped her short. "Don't bother - at the most, it's going to take at least 10 minutes." She nodded and sighed in agreement - the building was indeed a busy place, and given the large amount of bustling and hustling around the building, it would take a while until some damned person figured out that Seto Kaiba was stuck in an elevator.

"No, my lunch," Serenity moaned dramatically after a few seconds. Kaiba stared at her, slightly blanched. The girl was worried about her lunch while he was silently calculating the main floor damage fees and court issues? Goodness.

"It's just a lunch," he hissed, "you're not going to die."

She leaned against the wall and folded her arms across her chest, "I never said I would - but still...I'm hungry. And tired," she added, and on cue, presented him with a small but notable yawn.

"Welcome to the job," he replied back, tartly.

Silence filled the elevator once more, and Serenity was inwardly swallowing bottles of awkwardness as Kaiba stared at the metal door with such intensity, that she thought if he stared at it any longer it would melt. She turned her gaze back to the floor and felt a sudden chill indicating that someone was watching her. She knew who it was, but the prospect of Seto Kaiba staring at her made her feel odd. A good sort of odd - a powerful odd.

She stood straighter, and looked back up, watching as his eyes flew back to the metal door. She inched a step closer to him, which hardly made any difference given their current positions.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

Kaiba gave a sideways glance, "what?"

"That thing," she gestured.

He turned towards her, "what thing? I think we've been through this already. You're going to have to be more specific," he stated coldly.

She took a deep breath, "why do you keep looking at me?"

Kaiba shared no emotion and stood there, blankly looking at her curious and questioning face. "I think the better question is, why are you looking at me," he snapped back.

Serenity's eyebrows quirked, "Me?" She scoffed, "I only look at you because _you_ look at me."

"I think _you_ can't control yourself - I think you want to look at me," he smirked back.

She appeared to be appalled on spot now, "what gave you that crazy idea, Mr. Kaiba ?"

"How about the fact that your close your door everyday now," he started, but found her cutting in.

"That's because _you_ stare at me - and it makes me uncomfortable," she ground out, turning slightly red.

He smirked, "it's my job to watch you."

"Since when do care about others?" She prompted.

"It's not you I'm worried about - it's the position you're handling," he retaliated.

"Well , if you haven't noticed, I think I'm doing my job just fine," she replied, gesturing towards the company. He realized he really couldn't argue on that one.

Silence emerged again, and Kaiba found his eyes drawn to her slouching figure again. The sudden call of a sweet, yet angry feminine voice drew him out of his gaze. "Sir, is there something wrong with my face? My clothes perhaps?" Serenity asked, stepping closer.

"No."

"Then why are you staring at me _again_?" She asked, revealing a curious smirk. Hell, now he was unconsciously staring at her - great.

Kaiba said nothing - he really, at this point, had no clue what to say. How was he supposed to respond to something like that? He just couldn't, so he let her continue talking. Serenity stepped closer until her body heat emerged onto his coat. "Maybe there's another reason that you're staring at me?" She questioned.

"Do you want me to fire you?" He replied, trying to ease the dangerous waters.

Serenity didn't back away, however, she did frown lightly, "well of course not , but I don't think you would actually do that now, right?" She drew closer, until she was touching his coat, one hand griping each collar.

Kaiba really didn't like where this was going, so he angularly shook her hands off him, and stepped aside, "I would, and I can. Don't get too comfortable," he hissed, angry at the effect she was having on him.

"fine," she said, suddenly sounding tired, "but stop staring at me."

"I can't."

"..._What_?"

_Oh shit._

Kaiba wasn't sure whether his mouth was on autopilot or whether he simply had a sever case of insomnia, but whatever the cause of him spewing bullshit was, he had to kill it. If it made him say things like this, he just had to kill it - shoot it even.

"What?" She said again, edging closer to him.

"Nothing."

Serenity was suddenly pressed beside him, with a lazy grin on her face. "I heard what you said, sir," Serenity said, poking his arm. Kaiba twitched at her sudden merriness. What did he do to deserve this? He mentally prayed that the elevators would start moving again - Kaiba really didn't like where this was headed.

"But, Kaiba," she said, dropping the formal suffix, "why see, when you can touch," she said, softly, leaning into him. She hummed quietly, "hmm, I'm just kidding, , I would never be so rude," she said, laughing lightly, and pulled away.

Kaiba felt his manly restraints falling slowly - staying calm was almost as difficult as sitting through an interview at this point. And her - he gave a quick sideways look before she caught him - she was being ridiculously odd today. Kaiba found that once in a while she would develop this strange confident aura about her, which dropped him speechless, but as he figured, a stuck elevator was not one of the best times to pull out that confidence.

He said nothing in reply, but simply scooted further away from the unpredictable girl.

" Mr. Kaiba, I'm tired," her voice rang through the elevator again.

Kaiba clenched his fists in his pocket, "I don't care."

She looked hurt by his response at first, but that face was quickly replaced by a contemplative frown towards the metal door. "No one's here yet...it's been over fifteen minutes."

"Push the button."

"The emergency one?"

"Do you know any other button that'll work?" He hissed back.

Sighing she reached out to press the button, and expecting no immediate response, Serenity casually leaned against the wall, waiting.

"Mr. Kaiba ..."

"What?" He snapped, quite irritated now.

She yawned, "do you like me?"

If Kaiba had developed his facial expressions to be something beyond blank, right now, he was certain that his face would have resembled the likes of someone who had just walked off a roller coaster.

"Of course not."

Serenity gave a small grin, "no I mean as a Secretary, sir."

Oh.

Oh.

Kaiba inwardly applauded himself for misreading just about everything that was spewing out of her mouth today. "You're adequate."

"Hmmm," was all the reply she gave him, and mused back into her thoughts.

Kaiba wished he had carried a phone with him at the least, but then again, it wasn't like he foresaw himself being stuck in an elevator - with his secretary. He felt a sudden dead weight land on his chest, and he stared in growing horror, as Serenity perched her head comfortably on his shoulder, eyes slowly closing.

"What exactly do you think your doing?" He said coldly, watching her form hunch against his bigger frame.

" Sir," she yawed, "I'm so tired. I haven't slept properly since last week...I've been so preoccupied with Kaiba Corp. plans and events, I forgot to sleep," she explained, nudging her head deeper into his shoulder.

_Is that any reason to fall asleep on me?_ He muttered inwardly.

"Like, I said," he replied, propping her head up, "welcome to the job. Now move."

Serenity however, did not move, "you know, you should really get out more."

"I'd rather not."

"But you're such a workaholic," she mumbled.

Kaiba felt like shaking her senseless, "I'm well aware of that, thanks," he snarled back.

"But you also work hard, and care for the company, and you brother, and, the workers," she noted, ignoring his sarcastic remark.

Kaiba didn't know what to say to that one either - it wasn't everyday that someone casually complimented him. But he found he didn't have to say anything, as she continued talking.

"You know - I'm glad I work here," she yawned again, and Kaiba watched as her eyes swiftly closed.

Her sleeping form ensured the silence once again, but this time, Kaiba was left with her dead weight leaning against him. How exactly did one fall asleep in such a manner? There was no way he would emerge on the main hall with her sleeping on him. A voice rang through the elevator, breaking Kaiba from his thoughts.

"Sir, sorry for the delay! You know how-"

"Just get this thing moving again," he cut in.

"Yes," the man replied in a nervous tone, "I'll request them to immediately direct the elevator to the main floor-"

"No!" Kaiba hissed through the elevator receiver, "direct it back to my floor," he snapped. There was no way in hell that Seto Kaiba would ever emerge through the company doors with a girl lying on him. Never.

"...yes, right away, Sir."

The line was cut, and Kaiba held his ground as the elevator began its journey back to his floor. _What a waste of 20 minutes, _Kaiba thought. When the elevator stopped on his floor, he couldn't help but notice how quiet it was - especially in comparison to the other floors. His floor was like a private sanctuary - well, _was_ private, until she had come along. Holding in a groan, he stared at the girl sleeping peacefully against his shoulder, before gently pushing her body of his. He really did have to get downstairs and deal with the problem.

"Wake up."

When he got no response, Kaiba suppressed the urge to shake her shoulders, "wake up or I'll fire you," he said in a placid tone, but the girl didn't budge. Kaiba thought she looked rather funny standing there like a rag doll - he figured most people only slept standing when they were severely tired.

"You-"

"Huh?" Her dozy voice cut him short.

Glaring at her, he held her on spot just in case she tipped forward, "sleep when you get home. This isn't a napping place."

But Serenity simply stared at him with hazy eyes, " Mr. Kaiba, I'm tired."

"Not my problem."

But he suddenly did find it his problem, when he felt her head tipping on his shoulder again. Muttering curses in his head, Kaiba did what he felt was appropriate at that point. He picked her up, one hand on the small of her back and the other resting under her knees.

"I think I'll dock your pay for sleeping on the job," he muttered silently, as he walked to his office.

Kicking open the door, he paced towards the sofa and dropped her steadily on the black leather couch, ready to go back down to kill the owner across the street. Unfortunately for him, Kaiba found that he couldn't budge. Glancing down, he found the answer to that - Serenity had snaked her arms around his neck somehow, and held him in a vice-like grip.

Kaiba cursed his life to the depths of hell.

A sudden knock on his door had him itching to pull his hairs out.

" Sir, are you in there? Is everything all right? We are here to escort you back down to the main floor. We are terribly sorry for the elevator incident," the man spoke.

_Shit_, Kaiba thought, glancing down at the girl with her arms wrapped around him.

"Mr. Kaiba , we're coming in."

He watched the doorknob opening and unconsciously tightened his grip around the sleeping girl.

Only one word came to Kaiba's mind: _Screwed._

* * *

Cliffhangers anyone?

A while ago, a guest reviewer recommended making the pair locked up in the office, but I figured since they're forced to bear each others presence in an office anyway, an elevator would be better suited. So thanks person out there...somewhere~

Okay, that was a super late update, but because it was a late update I decided to make the chapter a whole hell of a lot longer than usual, so cheers~

Reviews are greatly appreciated, ya'll~

Til' next time!


	8. Extra Baggage

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Seto Kaiba did not consider himself to be a concerned person, a worrywart or anything along the lines of giving a damn, however the situation that was presented to him at the moment was unfortunately along those lines. And so, at the sound of the door latch clicking, Kaiba did the only sane thing he could think of, and ran straight for Serenity's office, carrying her with him.

"Sir?" A man questioned, two others tailing behind him as they entered the room.

Did they need to send three people all the way up, just to get one person?

Kaiba casually dropped Serenity on her sofa and fixed himself up before pacing out the door in the most Kaiba-like manner he could muster at that moment. Safe to say, it worked quite well as the three men before him seemed to stiffen slightly.

"What is it?" He questioned, swiveling his chair around and taken a seat.

The man stood straighter, "well, about the repercussions...the man from the store across the street states that under some law, he has the right to sue us for charging him to pay the damage fees and he-"

Kaiba gave a hollow laugh, half out of relief that he hadn't shot himself yet, and half for the fact that he hadn't shot his employees yet. The man before him looked slightly shaken at the sight of Seto Kaiba laughing - or at least what seemed to be a laugh.

"Let the fool know that if he's charging us fees there'll be consequences in the future," he shot back.

"But, Sir-"

"Are you all seriously telling me you can't provide an alibi and confirm that the poll falling was not Kaiba Corp. business?" Kaiba questioned, seething, "and that too with a dozen security camera's lining the walls and over a hundred witnesses?" He added, narrowing his eyes.

The man gave a small gulp and nodded, "yes sir, I'll see to this...this mess," he replied, before stepping out of the room. At the men's departure, Kaiba stooped back in his chair, spinning around to face the setting sun that was sending streaks of yellow and orange into his dark room. Sighing he straightened up, and was set to go back to work when the door on his side creaked open.

Oh.

He had almost forgotten about her.

It had been so quiet.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"What?" He said, refusing to glance up from his study.

She bit her, "how long was I out?"

"Long enough. Including the time in the elevator I'd say around an hour or two. Tch - what I waste of time."

"Sorry, Sir," she blurted immediately, rushing out the room to stand in front of his desk. "I didn't mean to fall a sleep, I-"

"Go home."

"Excuse me?" She asked, tilting her head. Kaiba stared at her now, noting her slightly devilish appearance after sleeping; her hair was falling out of its now loose bun and her lavender button up shirt was slightly disoriented under her black sweater. Kaiba secretly couldn't help address the fact that she looked sort of nice like that, if not wholesome.

"I said go home," he repeated.

"But Sir," she protested, "I won't sleep anymore, I-"

"I want a healthy worker, not a dead one," he interjected swiftly, although his tone was not heavy, nor icy. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an over-worked secretary, which described Serenity perfectly at that moment.

Serenity assumed that it was the end of their discussion as he directed his attention back to his screen, not even batting an eyelash. She stared at him for a few more seconds, admiring how the evening sun played with the color of his hair; it took her a few more seconds to realize the fact that Kaiba had indirectly given her permission to leave work early given her sleepy circumstances.

Smiling serenely, she walked back to her office and picked up her belongings along with a few stacks of paper.

"Here are the files and placement orders I managed to address," she heaved, dumping the stack on the corner table, "and here's the theme and dress code for Mr. Pegasus's invitation," she added, tossing a blue envelope on his desk. Kaiba immediately tore open the offensive letter, reading its contents.

"Theme?" He questioned tossing the letter aside.

Serenity nodded, picking the letter up and placing it back in the pile, "yes, I believe Mr. Pegasus has called for a color theme this year from what I've been told - which isn't much," she added plaintively.

"What is he, five?" Kaiba scoffed, glaring at the letter.

Serenity gave a small chuckle, "perhaps - but at least he's festive, unlike some people," she trailed off, picking up her bag once more and heading out the door.

Kaiba watched her leave, narrowing his eyes at her retreating figure.

_Festive? Is she telling me that I'm not festive?_ He inwardly questioned.

Mumbling to himself, Kaiba directed his thoughts back to work for the next seven hours straight with a few phone call interruptions in between; as expected, the day ended as just another casual night in the Kaiba Corp. tower.

oOo

It was two days later when Serenity came bustling into the office hollering some important news that Kaiba failed to process as he had been glued to his screen for the past 24 hours. "Mr. Kaiba, your jet is here - you will be late if you don't leave this very intance," she exclaimed, marching up to his desk in fervor.

"Yes."

She glared at him," sir, I'm serious."

"Yes."

Serenity raised a brow.

"You're a women in disguise."

"Yes."

Serenity sighed exasperatedly, "Mr. Kaiba," she shot back, "are you even _trying_ to listening?" She slammed a hand down on the table to get his attention.

"What?" He snapped, presenting her with a cold glare.

Serenity sighed profusely, "you're running late," she said. Kaiba glanced at his watch - she was right. But it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"I'm not," he retaliated, grabbing his briefcase and coat, _"we're _running late."

Serenity turned her head to watch his retreating form, "what do you mean, I can't come with you. I've got files and tons of paperwork and deadlines to meet by this weekend," she throttled.

"That will be taken care of in your absence," he shot back.

"But why do I need to come?" She argued, unwilling.

Kaiba stopped to gaze at her stubborn face, "because clearly Pegasus didn't just invite me for a dinner, he's invited me for work-related purposes which I'll let you handle so I can talk with other companies to expand Kaiba Corps. relations," he concluded.

Serenity blinked and nodded, "I don't think you've ever spoken so much, Sir," she breathed out.

"Yes, well I've never had an irritating secretary either," he muttered, stalling out the room.

Serenity stood aloof in spot before her brows furrowed in anger and she chased after his retreating figure, "Sir , I beg to differ on that statement!

oOo

Serenity sat quietly in the Kaiba corp. jet, eyeing the city below her. Her prior reluctance had vanished along with a portion of her annoyance with Kaiba. She figured if he trusted her enough to manage his work with him, than that was a sign that noted a growth in their work relationship. Besides, it was not as though she had expected him to run up to her holding a sign that would read, 'I trust you with my life!' Clearly the chances of that happening were as close to the chances of Tristan receiving an applaudable job.

Slim to none.

In any case, her fear of being fired anytime soon was put at ease thanks to Kaiba's recent lack of threats and mental torture. In her file of thoughts, something hit Serenity like a ton of bricks, and she mentally kicked herself when a certain realization dawned upon her.

"My clothes," she breathed out, eyes wide.

Dashing up from her seat, she ran into the next cabin - Kaiba's cabin. "Sir-!"

Serenity however, was met with an unexpected sight that stopped her rambling short on spot. There, Seto Kaiba lay vulnerable to the entire world - he was sleeping. As she paced closer to check whether his eyes were closed, Serenity's lips formed into a small 'o' at the sight of her CEO dandling away in dreamland.

_He must be tired...well go figure; the man barely sleeps,_ she muttered inwardly.

She sighed, staring at his somewhat serene face. Drawing closer, she noticed that Kaiba miraculously managed to look human, and perhaps even cute when he slept. Serenity was silently mortified by her own thoughts - since when did the term cute become relatable to Seto Kaiba in any aspect or manner? Realizing that she was staring, Serenity pinched the bridge of her nose and decided to let the poor man sleep so that when he woke up, his anger would be at the level of normalcy, as she would have put it.

_My clothing issue can wait till later_, she thought. Serenity turned around to leave but halted in spot when her gaze fell upon his laptop resting against him, along with his phone. A small smile graced her lips, before she gently picked the phone and placed it on the table. She proceeded to pick his laptop up when his hand shot out hand grabbed her own.

Serenity let out a small gasp at the sudden movement. "What are you doing?" He hissed, straightening himself up.

Serenity removed her hand from his grip, "I was simply moving your belongings. You were sleeping so I decided-"

"To go through my personal items?" He cut in coldly.

_Here we go again_, Serenity mentally groaned. "Actually, Mr. Kaiba, I was just moving them to make your nap more comfortable. I didn't go through anything and you know it," she added firmly, glaring down at his slightly slouched figure.

He ignored her explanatory remark, and gazed out the window, "how long was I sleeping?"

Serenity shrugged casually, "less than an hour for sure - you barely slept. I believe we have around another hour until we reach the island, sir," she added.

"Hn." And with that being said, he made a grab for his phone and the laptop once again and settled back to work leaving Serenity to stand there stupidly, staring at his working form.

"Sir?"

"What?"

She shifted from foot to foot, glancing around sheepishly, "I...I- I don't have any other change of clothes."

"So?"

"So I need some other change of clothing given the duration of time we will be staying there," Serenity explained, twiddling her thumbs.

"And why on earth would you need other clothes?" He asked, eyes still glued to the screen.

Serenity almost had the urge to slap him again - almost. "Sir, if you haven't noticed I'm a _women,_" she stressed rather slowly.

"A what now?"

Serenity glared at him, crossing her arms, "don't play dumb. I need other clothes and-"

"Stop worrying over foolish things. And if it calms your so-called women nerves, allow me to inform you that Pegasus has some extra female clothing stored away somewhere," he interjected.

Serenity raised a brow, "how do you know?"

Kaiba gave her a sharp glance, "how I know is none of your business. Just be happy that he has any," he retaliated, and just for good measure added, "leave."

Serenity really didn't understand the man sometimes; one minute he was starting to act something along the lines of nice, and the next minute he turned into a mean, overly arrogant jerk full of nothing but snarky comments and insults. Spinning around on her heals, she marched back to the second cabin, eager to clear her head before she set foot on the island - if she didn't, Serenity was certain something would break by her hands.

It was around two in the afternoon when Serenity felt the wheels hit the runway. Quickly, she collected her bag - the only thing she had managed to grab before leaving - and fixed up her hair, before exiting through the front cabin. As expected, the cabin was deserted meaning that Kaiba had already gotten of the damned thing. As Serenity got off, she was graced with the vast view around them, which in return fell nothing short of the glimmering ocean, beautiful mountains and a stunning landscape.

"The view from this landing pad is certainly a sight, isn't it Miss Serenity?" Drawled an elegant voice.

Serenity smiled at the owner of the voice, "yes Mr. Pegasus, it's quite the lovely sight."

"As are you," he graced back, shaking her hand gently. The man before her adorned his custom red suit, laced shirt, and of course his impeccable and infamous chivalry charm that was heavily credited to his long silver hair and flashy smile.

_Only the head of Industrial Illusions could manage to get away with a look like this, _Serenity thought inwardly.

She gave a light laugh and shook her, "perhaps I am, but nothing in comparison to your island."

"Are we done with the family reunion?" A cold chaste voice cut in.

If Serenity had worn her extra heel pumps, she was certain that the shoe would be off her foot at that very moment and flung with great passion towards Kaiba's head. But dreamlike joys were not available in reality and thus, Serenity was forced to smile at him and nod her head.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, sorry about that," she responded, as Pegasus gave a hearty laugh.

"Only been a few months and he's already got you chained, eh?" He exclaimed, gesturing for the trio to walk.

Serenity shook her head and was about to reply, when Kaiba beat her to it. "Our relationship is completely that of worker and boss. It's only natural to keep the worker chained," he stated and quickened his pace, "but that's not what I'm here to discuss, so let's get down to business, shall we?"

Coming from Kaiba, it was more of a command that a question, and of course Pegasus noted that as well. "Yes, yes on with the boring business stuff," he sighed, stalling after Kaiba with Serenity by his side.

He stopped short at the stairs, as the duo watched Kaiba disappear down the steep steps. The silver haired man turned to Serenity with delicate grace and smiled, "he's not much to work on, is he?" He gestured his head towards the direction Kaiba had left in.

Serenity gave a sigh of her own, "no, he isn't." Her expression and lack of words told the man that Kaiba's Secretary had experienced just about enough around the man to tolerate his cold actions as if the norm and also understood that there was more between the lines that he didn't know - well, not yet at least.

He gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder and guided a hand down the stairs, "well, he's always been like that. Nothing you can do about it really," he added. "Why don't you go find a guest room and get settled in and then meet us in the patio, hmm?"

Serenity nodded, "thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Pegasus."

He scoffed in response, "don't be silly, it's only natural. Do tell if there's anything else I can provide you with."

"Actually, there is," she replied, holding a glimmer of humor in her hazel eyes.

Pegasus raised a brow, "and what would that be?"

"I need some...clothes, and I was told you have some...for females," she put together carefully, even though she realized how unprofessional she must have sounded.

"Did Kaiba tell you that?" He asked, now amused.

Serenity nodded, which only intensified his amusement more so. "Well, of course I do - what would you like? Lace, cotton, I even have a special collection..."

And for the duration of their walk down the stairs Serenity chatted with the head of Industrial Illusions about lace, frill and everything in between. It was the start of a very busy week, and if Serenity could help even a few hours of sleep, she would feel blessed.

* * *

Who doesn't love a good oversea's business trip, no? :)

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

'Til next time ya'll.


	9. Busy Preparations

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

Serenity could conclude that after two days of running calls, settling appointments, and doing paperwork her life pertained something along the lines of non-existent. The work given at the Kaiba Corp. office was over shadowed and now appeared almost relaxing in comparison to the work she was doing here. And while Kaiba and Pegasus secretly chatted away in a room, Serenity was forced to attend to Kaiba's daily plans and schedules under his bidding. Safe to say, she was not amused and her lack of sleep only furthered the problem as her patience was beginning to submerse along with her unholy will to not slap Seto Kaiba every now and then.

"Sir, this is ridiculous - yes, Mr. Pegasus, you too. This idea is won't work," she stated, throwing the banquet plans onto the long table. The day had only begun and Serenity already felt mildly irritated at the sight of the two men talking over breakfast. Pegasus had indeed managed to find some well in fashion women's clothing that she was able to wear, which came off as more than a surprise to Serenity.

"No one asked you whether it would work or not," Kaiba snapped back, grabbing the file.

Serenity suppressed a roll of her eyes, "yes, but when it fails, I know I'll be the one to clean it up," she shot back.

Pegasus gave a cheery clap, "yes, I do agree with that. But what's wrong with this idea, I do find it rather exciting," he exclaimed, pointing to the folder.

"This," she gestured to the folder, "how on earth is having a circus show performance during the hour even slightly relatable to what this banquet is for?" Serenity shot a quizzical glance towards both of them.

"It's not," Kaiba retaliated, "but the sales we receive will be."

"But that's not the original idea," Serenity exasperated.

Pegasus sighed, "what exactly was the original idea again? Do remind me."

"Listen Pegasus, I'm only interested in this banquet because it gives me a chance to show the hologram duel disk system Kaiba Corp. developed with the usage of your new dueling cards as testers. Otherwise, I don't give a damn whether an elephant flies threw your windows or they toss you in the air," Kaiba reminded them coldly.

"I see, so while I introduce my new cards on your device, you introduce your new device using my cards. Two birds with one stone, not bad boy," Pegasus mused, eyeing Kaiba.

"Okay, so no elephants it is then!" Serenity said, breaking the silence. "Well then, I'll be off, I need to go call the cancelled performers, and I'll relay the message to Kaiba Corp. to send a shipment of the new holograms right now so we get them by day after," she added, talking more to herself than the others. The two watched her ramble through the door and out of sight. Pegasus turned back to Kaiba with a shrewd smile on his face, and almost subconsciously, Kaiba crossed his arms in response.

"You overwork her."

"The job just requires that much."

"Really now?"

"If she can't handle it, then she can quit," Kaiba snorted uncharacteristically.

Pegasus smiled, "why not fire her? You are more than capable or firing her...or are you?" He re-questioned when Kaiba failed to respond.

"Ah, I see - so she is a good secretary," Pegasus concluded, "Otherwise you would've fired her. And even if she did wish to leave, I'm sure you would indeed find some way to make her stay, no?" Kaiba's lack of response and insults only made it more so evident.

"Hn."

"Why not just marry the girl."

Kaiba ignored the ludicrous suggestion, stood up, and headed straight for the door - such nice weather it was, he reminded himself.

"She is quite beautiful - and she works," Pegasus's voice called out to Kaiba's retreating form.

When Kaiba disappeared from the large room, Pegasus silently chuckled to himself, deep in thought, "oh, how I do love young, reluctant, foolish love," he drawled, sipping his wine.

He simply couldn't wait for the banquet.

oOo

Over the next few days of the week, Serenity had managed to survive the torments of angry calls, furious guests, and had somehow managed to snag less than an hours worth of sleep. She didn't quite understand how she came about to be the head planner of the banquet especially considering that it was Pegasus's banquet, but here she was, tackling the dreads of organizing a get together for millionaires and other various egoistic jerks spread across the globe. If her current situation could be summed up in one word, Serenity decided that at the moment, she felt like a Kaiba if not worse.

And while she was dying with her last breathes working hard as ever, Kaiba and Pegasus were silently talking about new innovative world changing technologies, whilst she did the work.

Oh the woes of being a secretary were finally beginning to kick in.

And hard.

Fortunately for her, the only good thing that came out of the Kaiba Corp. shipments jet late afternoon was not the holograms themselves but Mokuba that came as a rather pleasant surprise to Serenity.

"It's nice to see you here Mokuba," Serenity sighed, walking past the unloaded shipments.

Mokuba grinned and shrugged in response, "well, someone trustable had to be in there - I mean, I am his little brother," he added.

"Mr. Kaiba wants them taken to the storage below the castle for the time being," she directed the guards. Nodding they began to haul the machines away. Turning back to Mokuba, she gave a tired nod, "yes, well it's good he trusts someone. Come on, he probably wants to see you," she beckoned him to follow.

Rushing up to her side, Mokuba glanced at her face with concern, "what's wrong, Serenity?"

"Nothing really, I'm just tried," she responded, flashing a small smile, "why do you ask?"

"Well not to be rude, but you look like a dried up toothpick," he laughed, putting his hands up in defense when she tossed him a murderous glare.

Huffing in dismay she said, "well allow me to inform you that the fault of my tiredness resides with your brother."

"Hm, go figure - Seto's been a worker killer since he was 5," Mokuba replied nonchalantly.

Serenity raised a brow, "you don't say..."

"So what's the theme this year?" Mokuba asked, as the pair walked down the velvet carpet halls.

"It's a color theme. Mr. Pegasus has confirmed it to be all blue."

"Blue?" Mokuba questioned, "but I thought he hates that color, I was sure he'd pick something like red or purple," he replied making a sickening face at the thought of a bunch of millionaires adorned in purple.

Serenity nodded, "so did I - but still, blue's a nice color. I like it as well," she added.

"Hm, so does Kaiba."

"...But I prefer red."

"Sure you do," Mokuba said with a small smirk that could even give Kaiba a run for his money.

Sighing she gestured towards the large oak door a head of them, "they're in there."

Mokuba gave her a side-ways glance, "are you going to the banquet tonight?"

"I don't think I will be. I mean, I still have to take care of the Kaiba Corp. matters back in Domino and I'm exhausted," she added, humoring the situation.

Mokuba pushed open the bronze door handles, "I think you should drop by though, you know, take a break from all this," he said, grinning.

Serenity gave a boy a grin in return, "perhaps, perhaps not - we'll see."

The sight of Mokuba and Serenity striding towards the long table halted Pegasus and Kaiba's discussion short. "Ah, there you are Serenity," Pegasus greeted, "we were just talking about you!"

Serenity eyed the pair curiously, "were you now?"

"No we weren't."

"Don't lie Kaiba boy," Pegasus corrected, sipping his wine.

"We weren't," Kaiba repeated sternly, "and when did you get here Mokuba?" He questioned, gazing at his little brother.

"Thanks for noticing, Seto," he replied with mild sarcasm, "actually, I just got here with your new dueling equipment for tonight's banquet."

"I see - and you," he directed his cold mask back to Serenity, "is everything ready?"

His tone was so inferior, that Serenity felt her last strings of control slipping away; she felt her hand itch in anticipation. "Yes it is Mr. Kaiba, I've called all gaming executives and heads and have confirmed their answers, however the heads in America will not be able to attend so they'll be sending various supervisors instead," she explained, "I'm sure you can find some way to woo them with your charms, now if you'll excuse me I've got some last minute work to do then I'm off to bed. If you need me I'll be in my room dying," she said, and stressed the last part rather sparkly.

Without waiting for a response, Serenity slapped the finalized file on the desk and stalled out the room, heels clicking against the smooth tiles. At the sound of her departure, Pegasus spoke, "well, she certainly does know how to make daringly dramatic exit."

Mokuba nodded, "but she's worked so hard - she totally deserves a break, don't you think Seto?" Mokuba commented.

Kaiba glared steadily at the door, "there are no breaks in my company." And with that being said, he too got up headed for another door towards the west end of the large room.

"Boy, where are you going?" Pegasus asked, tilting his head.

"All the plans are done. We have nothing else to discuss. Just be ready for tonight," he concluded, not turning back.

Pegasus gave a small chuckle, "oh, don't you worry about me Kaiba boy, I'm always ready for a good party," he smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Whatever," Kaiba dismissed and left out the door, slamming it behind. The sound made a reverberating echo throughout the elongated halls of the room.

Pegasus sighed, flicking a lock of silver hair past his shoulder, "you know Mokuba, your brother really does have a way of doing things," he noted.

"Yeah, he does," Mokuba agreed, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the table, "and most people probably don't swing well him."

"Well I would assume not, after all, his ways of conducting business have nothing charmingly noticeable about them," he began.

Mokuba glance up at the chivalrous man, "so?"

"So," he pressed onward, folding his hands, "I'm hoping the secretary girl will come to the banquet tonight."

"Serenity?" Mokuba said, taking a bite out the apple, "what does she have to do with this?"

"Well as far as I'm concerned, which is quite a bit seeing as I'll be showcasing my new card tonight, it's quite obvious that Serenity will simply do a better job marketing the Kaiba Corp. products than Kaiba boy," he stated, marveling at the last few drops of wine in his glass.

Mokuba crossed his arms, "but Seto's always been able to market-"

"with the usage of power, position, pride and arrogance, yes," Pegasus interrupted and catching Mokuba's frown added, "none of which are wrong or unjust, however Serenity is a charming young women, she's smart, she's beautiful, she knows what she's doing-"

"Okay, okay," Mokuba intervened, "I get it - she can totally convince people with more positivity than my brother, but she said she wasn't going to come," he argued.

"Convince her to," Pegasus drawled.

"I can't."

"But Kaiba boy can."

"He can?"

Laughing airily, Pegasus nodded, "I'm sure he could - and I'm sure he would if _you _asked him," he added.

Mokuba narrowed his eyes, "why do you care?"

"Because I do - it's of personal interest, something a child such as yourself wouldn't understand," he said pompously.

With a huff, Mokuba got up from his seat, "fine, whatever." As he walked towards the door, he gave a hesitant grin towards the graciously sophisticated man, "but you know what, I'll ask Seto anyway, just to see what he does."

Pegasus inclined his head in agreement, "by all means, go ahead - I'm quite curious to see how he responds to this...predicament as well," he smirked.

Nodding, Mokuba ran out the room, eager as Pegasus to see the night's events unfold.

oOo

_I can't believe I'm actually doing this,_ Kaiba hissed mentally. There were around two hours left before the guests started arriving, and here he was, walking in the dim of the evening sun toward his secretary's room in hopes of convincing her to attend the banquet. And although Kaiba would never sink to the level where he would personally invite someone, his brother's big eyes and pouty words seemed to alter the gears in his head to naturally mouth the word 'yes'.

That word was the death of him, and thus, he found himself holding a white box with god knows what inside, knocking at her door.

"Mokuba, I thought I told you I was busy right now," a soft voice came from inside.

"It's not Mokuba."

There was a fury of strange curses he heard along side some crashing and more cursing until the door opened in such rapture, even he had to take a step back. "Oh, good evening Sir," Serenity heaved, leaning against the door, "ready for the banquet?" She asked.

Kaiba raised a brow at her frazzled appearance. He guessed she had been sleeping given the lack of her usually tidy self and more or less dazzling exterior. "I believe the better question is, are you ready?"

"I beg your pardon?" She asked, tilting her head and letting a wave of orange hair cascade down her side. Serenity, to say the least, was genuinely confused.

He shoved the white box into her hands, "from the loon - he says to wear it. Be there by 8 o'clock sharp. Main floor." Wanting to leave as quickly as possible, Kaiba spun around on his heels and walked away.

"Wait!"

He stopped and glared at her, "what?"

"You need a tie to go with that suit Sir," she breathed out, noting that he had already changed into his dress wear for the night.

Kaiba thought his ears had failed him - had she just requested for him to put on tie? "That's not your concern," he hissed, ready to leave once more.

Serenity jumped forward, "not unless I make it my concern. I am your secretary after all," she shot him a tired smile, before running into her room and after a few seconds, returning with a dark navy colored tie presented before him. "I always carry an extra one in my bag, but this one's far too big for me."

"Voila - it goes perfectly with your suit," she exclaimed, holding the article of clothing against his neck. Kaiba twitched in irritation, "I beg to differ."

"Here," she said, ignoring his remark, "I'll put it on for you." Standing on her toes, she spoofed up his collars and wrapped it around his neck, before realizing she could not reach up to tie because of their height difference. Biting her lip, she practically dragged Kaiba by the tie, into her room, and surprisingly Kaiba found that he couldn't argue. It was truly the oddest feeling.

She then stood on the bed making her at stable eye-level with him and quickly finished the procedure of tying the knot around his neck - the intensity in the atmosphere at that moment was unbearable. "There," she said, tucking in the tie and fixing the collars of his shirt, "all done, Mr. Kaiba ."

Kaiba wasn't sure what to say - normally, if anyone had tried to lay a hand on him in such a manner, he would've had their ass hauled out the door, but with her, it just wasn't done. "Don't go expecting any favors now," he muttered, adjusting the knot.

Smiling graciously she replied, "wouldn't dream of it, Sir ."

"Be there by 8," he reminded her again, "and don't be late."

"Do I have to?" It almost came off as a whiney request from a child.

He eyed her tersely, "it is_ requested_ that you did." That was about as nicely as he could put it; she could even consider it a thank you if she knew him well enough to figure out that he was suppressing his overused negative comments and threats.

Holding in a tired groan she gave a small shake of the head, "alright then."

Watching Kaiba depart from her room ensured a sudden awkwardness, which mostly revolved around the fact that he had actually allowed her to make his tie - strange. Her thoughts wandered back to the box that now lay on her bed. Serenity eyed the box curiously and wondered of its contents.

_What kind of derangement is inside this thing?_

* * *

I think we all know what's inside that box, eh?

Anyhow, people living in Canada, enjoy your long weekend, Happy Canada Day and cheers :)

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Til' next time~


	10. Banquet Night

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

The usual grandness of the castle seemed to have magnified tenfold by the time guests started arriving; and that fact did not go unnoticed by Seto Kaiba, who was all well dressed in blue, secretly watching the dense crowd from a second floor balcony. And because he was Seto Kaiba, he had a way of doing things - first, he would conceal his presence from all the guests present, then after, he would proceed to walk in just when he had everyone's awed attention, and finally he would harshly persuade every company there to invest in Kaiba Corp. It was a foolproof plan, a plan that had always worked decently well in past experiences. Unfortunately, his well-rehearsed thoughts were shortly interrupted by the host of the castle.

"Enjoying the view, Kaiba boy?" Pegasus said, leisurely walking up from behind.

Kaiba glanced sideways and noted that his appearance was far more nonsensical than usual. With his standard red suit now replaced by a light blue suit and frilled shirt, Kaiba felt his appreciation and likeness for his favorite color slipping away by the second.

"Not really," he replied, turning back to gaze out the curtained balcony.

Pegasus gave a small chortled laugh, "of course you don't. You don't like anything that's not yours, do you?" He asked.

"Not really."

His lack of response made the man on the left give a weary sigh, "alright then - I'll see you down stairs with the other guests," he stated flatly, "oh and do try the wine if you get the time. It's got quite the flavor."

Upon the flamboyant man's departure, Kaiba directed his attention back to growing crowd below him. He was just about to return to his overly enacted planning when the scampering of small feet came to his attention. Was it impossible to get five minutes of silence?

_Who the fuck is running around at this hour?_ He thought through gritted teeth. He turned around only to be met with his secretary running towards him holding papers, and quite possibly the worst hair-do he had seen since he had the displeasure of meeting Pegasus. She stopped short in front of him, looking far more frazzled then he had last laid eyes on her - which, given their busy schedule wasn't long ago.

"Should I even ask?" He quipped, crossing his arms and holding the usual egocentric demeanor.

Catching her breath, Serenity shook her head, "don't bother, Mr. Kaiba - a girls hair is never something you should question."

"It's more so your dignity I'm questioning."

"Where do you want the duel systems set up?" She asked, ignoring his remark.

"I believe we already discussed this."

"There's no room where you want it," she explained, almost anticipating his response, "the guests are scattering more than we seemed to have planned."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "then make room."

"I can't just _make_ room!"

"It's expected that you did."

"You know it's not possible at this rate."

"Should I fire you?"

"Might I make a suggestion?"

"What?"

"How about moving the systems out to the front entrance once everyone's settled down - then simply move them before the guests leave and have the guards watch over them by doubling security at the front," she explained.

Kaiba glared at her and the suggestion with such intensity that Serenity thought she had done something wrong - to which she was pretty sure she hadn't, but given his cold gaze and unresponsiveness, Serenity was beginning to think she had suggested something as farcical as wearing a dog on your head.

"Fine," he said after a nerve-wrecking moment of silence, "but you know what will happen if it doesn't work," he added just for good measure.

She heaved out a sigh of relief, "don't worry, sir - I'm sure it will all be fine."

And with that being said, she sped off in the other direction, looking like a wrangled mess on the move. Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose and directed his gaze back to the massive crowd of people chatting on just about everything that was worth more than gold. And in Kaiba's fair memory, he had always discerned that he was not like the other rich folk, regardless of what many thought of him. He never ran after the likes of money or wealth - it usually came to him along with a line of greedy lecher's and money hogs, who had no prospect of revolutionizing the world what so ever - unlike him. Kaiba smirked profusely as he belittled the crowd before him. Amongst the crowd, his eyes fell on a little figure darting around the huddled groups of guests.

_Mokuba,_ he thought automatically.

He watched the raven-haired boy slip through the people and dash up the side corridor stairs. "Seto," he called, running up to his side.

"What is it?"

"Everything's ready," Mokuba informed, "Mr. Pegasus wants you to come down now for the opening," he added, shrugging a thumb towards the man down below.

"Good," Kaiba nodded curtly, "go double check whether the guards are stationed at the right positions."

"But what about Mr.-"

"He can wait. I'm not exactly going anywhere," he added snidely.

Mokuba grinned, "okay then, I'll leave him to you. By the way, what happened to Serenity? She should be down by now," he frowned.

Kaiba stiffened ever so slightly, "don't worry about her. If she doesn't come, she won't be missing much."

"But she's coming, right?"

"I gave her the box if that's what you're asking."

Mokuba regarded his brother with a lofty smile, "I'm pretty sure she knows the rest then. Well, later Seto!" Kaiba watched what seemed to be the third person to depart from his company in the last fifteen minutes.

"That's a brand new record," he muttered, fixing his collars. He glanced once more at the crowd below, before making his way to the main stairs, readied with his usual arrogant walk and immaculate coldness held in place.

oOo

Serenity, in all her years of living, had never encountered something quite like the object of disapproval she was holding there and then. She frowned at the intricate piece of clothing, not entirely able to grasp how someone was supposed to wear it all without passing out or tripping over it in sheer nervousness.

_But it's still very beautiful,_ she ventured, holding the up the formal gown. _I wonder where Mr. Pegasus picked up such a lovely thing?_

Biting her lip, Serenity examined the dress closely. It was blue of course, and long - and the rest was simply indescribable. She could hardly begin to understand where each individual piece of fabric was coming from - it was like a labyrinth in a damn dress. Glancing in the mirror, Serenity couldn't help but notice her drained face was reflected back even worse than what she had originally thought it to be.

_I look like hell,_ she thought wearily as she eyed her slumped figure. And then her thoughts suddenly fell on Kaiba. What would he think? She scowled at the idea - he wouldn't make anything of the dress and she was certain of it. The man practically ignored her existence when she wasn't working for him or in his benefits and if Serenity had any say in the matter, she was quite certain that he would have fired her long ago.

Or not even hired her for that matter.

_He's such an arrogant, pompous, rich, moronic little_- she stopped, realizing the list could go on and on when it came to Kaiba. Which was surprising to her because she considered that list to fit men who talked the talk, but with Kaiba it was more so his actions that did justice to those words.

Sighing, Serenity blew a strand of hair off her face and gazed back at the dress. She discarded the idea of not attending the party altogether, "I'll go," she thought aloud, not knowing why, "yeah why not, I'll go."

oOo

Kaiba had hardly managed to mangle his way through the crowd before he was jumped upon by several guests, both male and female alike. It was a perturbing site seeing a massive crowd moving towards him in eager anticipation. And Kaiba knew well enough that their eagerness had nothing to do with what he was presenting; just the mere idea of being around him probably reflected their social status's skyrocketing through the roof.

"Excuse me," he hissed, watching as the crowd moderately died down around him.

He felt a small nudge on his side, and looked down. "Would it hurt to be nice Seto?" Mokuba asked grinning as the pair made there way to the table loaded with appetizers.

"It might."

Mokuba smiled slowly, knowing that, that statement was the closest thing to a joke that his brother could say. "Kaiba boy," Pegasus yelled breaking the quiet moment, as he sauntered towards them, "so glad you could make it!"

Mokuba raised a skeptical brow and frowned, "but we've been here the whole time. Six days in fact."

Pegasus sighed, waving his wine glass impatiently, "just play along, will you?"

Kaiba stared at the man plaintively, "just do your job right, and let me do mine," he stated icily.

"But of course, let's get started then. Wouldn't want to keep you waiting, I'm sure you want to leave this place...and what about her?" Pegasus asked suddenly.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "what about who?"

"Serenity of course," he scoffed.

"She's not coming," Kaiba replied tersely.

Pegasus wagged a finger at Kaiba, "What do you mean she's not coming? Did you-"

"What are you talking about?" Mokuba cut in, pointing to the staircase, "she's right there," he breathed out.

"Oh my," Pegasus said, turning towards the stairs. A hushed murmur fell over the crowd and all eyes seemed to be drawn almost naturally towards the stairs and female stepping down from it. Kaiba watched his secretary gracefully walk down step by step - it was surreal. He felt Pegasus lean towards him whisper, "you know, out of all the supposedly good things you've done in your life, handing her that white box was probably the best one."

Kaiba suppressed a roll of his eyes, _always with the dramatics. _

Shuffling his feet, Kaiba turned his back towards her, suddenly finding the variety of food before him simply fascinating. And he never ate at parties. Great. "She looks so pretty," he heard Mokuba squeal beside him. "Don't you think so, Seto?"

"She looks incompetent."

Pegasus gave an airy laugh, as he picked up another glass of wine, "please Kaiba boy, she looks good and you know it," he smiled, "but I know it's not in your nature to admit it."

Kaiba glared at the man, "I hardly think her looks are the issue here."

"Yes, yes, we'll get on with show," Pegasus replied wearily.

"Serenity!" Mokuba yelled, running up to her as she made her way through the ogling crowd.

Pegasus tipped his glass towards her, "you look marvelous," he spoke.

"Thank you. So do you, by the way," she humbled, glancing down at the dress, "I was wondering...er - who's dress is this? I mean, I know you have the whole clothing collection and all, but-"

"It was my wife's," Pegasus said, "and so are all the other articles of clothing."

Serenity guffawed on the spot, "oh well, I - she must have been beautiful."

"Hmm...she was."

"I see - well, I'm so sorry that she...well, you know-" Serenity couldn't articulate anything beyond that, which only made her feel worse.

"It's alright," the man recoiled quickly, "now if you'll excuse me, I have guests to charm," he said, clasping his hands together and busying himself in finding a crowd to kill.

"That was cool," Mokuba commented, watching Pegasus's retreating figure.

Serenity stared down at him with confusion, "what was cool?" She didn't recall doing anything cool since the time she had managed to pull out of a what would have been an embarrassing fall by doing half roll, half cartwheel sort of thing.

"You made him go away."

She frowned, "well I didn't mean to, but-"

"No I mean, now we know a topic that he's sensitive about," Mokuba replied, wagging his eyebrows, "his wife."

Serenity gave him a playful pat on his shoulder, "Mokuba, that's not a very nice thing to say," she scolded.

The boy shrugged in response, "but it's true. Anyway, I still have to check on the guards stationed at the back of the castle, I'll see you two later," he rushed, disappearing into the crowd.

Serenity turned her attention back to Kaiba, but of course he had somehow scampered away from her. It was highly irritating to her for some reason - she frowned at his retreating figure. She wasn't expecting a spontaneous reaction from him; in fact she was not expecting anything beyond a raised brow, tiny smirk or a jeering comment towards her attire, but he hardly batted an eyelash at her rare dressed up form. Serenity didn't know why, but that bothered her - and it bothered her a lot more than it should.

_Am I disappointed that he didn't even look at me?_ She wondered, walking in the opposite direction.

"It doesn't matter," she muttered, tucking a loose strand of orange hair behind her ear.

oOo

Kaiba watched her through narrowed eyes from the other side of the large room. He had eluded her girl-ish presence two hours ago and had been doing an excellent job of keeping it that way. And although he was avoiding her intentionally, he didn't why it was necessary to do so aside from the fact that simply looking at her was ticking him off.

Grunting, he turned his attention back to small crowd he was speaking to. "That was an excellent promotional demonstration of your new systems, Mr. Kaiba," a man beside him grinned.

"This was nothing - you haven't even witnessed half of the technological advancements Kaiba Corp. has developed," he gloated back, crossing his arms.

Another man to his left chuckled, "I don't know about your advancements in technology, but I know my advancements towards her are growing by the second," he said, gesturing his head towards Serenity. She was engaged in what seemed to be an intense discussion alongside a few other men and women.

Kaiba glared at the man, and suppressed the notion of grabbing his tie and choking him. "She's my secretary," he replied tartly.

"She's beautiful," he said, not taking his eyes off Serenity.

"She is, isn't she?" The other man agreed, smiling in her direction.

Kaiba almost cringed - he could more less see through their perverse and depraved thoughts as they eyed the girl with more than just your casual greeting. And then the man licked his lips like a feral animal.

Disgusting.

Kaiba abruptly excused himself.

_Creep_, he thought mentally. Kaiba paced out towards the front where the breeze in the night skies greeted him. He leaned against the ledge and stared out into the distance. "I knew I'd find you here, sir."

"Good for you." Kaiba didn't even bother to turn around and greet the person; it was obvious who it was. He could practically smell the perfume wafting off her skin. He crinkled his nose in displeasure - he never did like scents very much, especially not the ones that most girls lathered themselves in. The thought of perfume reminded him of why he had banned it at Kaiba Corp. - the reaction from his female employees was nothing short of amusing and the idea had the males chuckling for months.

Serenity approached his side and stood next to him, "nice night, isn't it?"

Kaiba didn't answer. He was not in the mood for casual talk, and especially not from her.

"Everything went pretty well - the guests were very pleased."

"With what -you, or your dress?"

"Excuse me?" She questioned, staring up at his slightly shadowed face.

He scorned at her response, "I think you heard well enough the first time."

"Actually," she hissed back, "people _were_ pleased with my dress - and my efforts towards making this thing," she said, gesturing her arms around, "were appreciated by everyone, except _you_, ," she added sourly.

His eyes widened for a fraction of second, before he snapped towards her, "I see. So you were more concerned with your appearance than the company's well-being."

"I didn't say that!"

"You're implying it."

Serenity eyed him with disdain, well aware of where this was going, "I think I'll go inside. You know, where someone appreciates my qualities rather than stepping on them," she stated then she turned around and left. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she was soundly approached by the two men that had been lavishing her with their eyes earlier.

Kaiba shot them a disgusted look before resuming his glaring battle with the night sky before him.

oOo

"Well that went rather well, don't you agree Kaiba boy?" Pegasus stated, after the last few guests had departed early into the morning.

Kaiba didn't reply, but inwardly agreed with the slightly tipsy man - things had gone well. As far as he was concerned, his product had been reflected greatly in the eyes of everyone there; at one point of the night, he recalled being bombarded with pleased approvals and small handshakes.

"But honestly, did you see that supervisor from America?" Pegasus said, scoffing, as he made a grab for another drink, "his hair looked as though someone had stuck a tree root on his forehead and lit it on fire..._twice,_" he added broodingly.

Mokuba laughed from the seat he was lounging on, "you thought his get up was bad? Did you check out that lady with the long silver hair and blue frilled shirt - oh wait, that was you," he replied snidely as Pegasus frowned in disapproval and turned towards Kaiba.

"Kaiba boy, you really must teach your brother some manners - he's ghastly," he piqued, glancing back at Mokuba. Kaiba wondered, for what seemed to be the thousandth time, why the man was in charge of a large multi-million company when he seemed to posses the attitude of a ten year old.

Ignoring the man's childish qualms, something else flashed in his mind. "She already went to bed, didn't she?" The other two knew well enough to the 'she' Kaiba was referring to. He only knew one 'she' unfortunately.

Mokuba stood up from his seat and shook his, "I don't know, I haven't seen Serenity since...well, since the banquet."

"Don't fret over it. The girl was exhausted anyhow. She probably headed for bed earlier," Pegasus pointed out, setting his wine glass down.

Kaiba would have given every sheer bit of his will power to believe that statement, but he couldn't - the alarms bells in his head were ringing. Something was off.

"What's wrong, Seto?" Mokuba frowned, noting his brother's blank face.

"Well speak up, we haven't got all day you know - I figured you'd be leaving today. It's already 3 in the morning and I believe you scheduled your jet for 7," Pegasus said.

"Mokuba," Kaiba said suddenly, "go ask the guards to do another round outside. And check if she's in her room."

Mokuba furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't say anything and simply followed the order. Pegasus glanced back at Kaiba, his lips falling into a thin line, "you don't think she's in her room, do you?"

Kaiba didn't say anything and walked back out into the balcony, fists deep in the pockets of his pants.

"Seto!" Mokuba ran, his breath coming out in short puffs, eyes wide, "she isn't there."

Pegasus reacted quicker than Kaiba could as he gestured to the guards standing the door, "go tell the others to do a full extended search of the island."

The man looked baffled, "sir, the whole island? But-"

"Yes," Pegasus cut in, "the _whole_ damned island. I don't want a single spot unsearched. Look in every tree hole you have to," he snapped. The man nodded and hurried in the other direction. Turned back to Kaiba, Pegasus raised a questioning brow, "you wouldn't have anything to do with her missing now, would you?" Kaiba didn't say anything as his eyes hardened in realization and he swore quietly.

"Shit."

* * *

Wonder where she ran off too...? Who knows - anyhow, I made this chapter longer since I haven't updated in a while, and to be honest I was a bit iffy on the whole dress and party idea since I do find it a bit cliche (and it resides within many romance fanfiction), but it pulls through I guess because it makes the next chapter so more fun to write :)

(Reached a decade - whoot whoot!)

Thank you for all the wonderful feedback!

till next time~

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	11. Conflict Island

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters associated with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Look what you've done, you've made the girl run away," Pegasus exasperated, waving his hand in dismal. "I mean, of all the things you could have suggested, you just had to tell her to go prancing with the men who looked like they were ready to eat her."

"Could you be quiet for a second," Kaiba hissed, through gritted teeth.

Pegasus frowned, "no, no I don't think I can. She's _your_ secretary Kaiba boy - which means she's your responsibility. If something happens to her on this island then...well, you know the rest, you're not an idiot," he drawled.

"Seto - a few of the guards came back. They didn't see her anywhere," Mokuba added weakly.

Gripping the balcony ledge tighter than before, Kaiba felt a sudden pang of guilt hit him - was it his fault? Of course not. He didn't ask her to go be all merry with those men. Well, he had indeed brought her here with the sole purpose of letting her manage insignificant tasks and people. He supposed those men did indirectly fall into that category, but nonetheless, she was still his responsibility.

"It's going to rain."

Pegasus let out an irritated sigh, "do you realize the state of this island when there's a storm? Aside from the castle, the entire landscape faces changes. And who knows if she's still on the island to begin with - for all we know, they could have taken her amidst their ship, and quite frankly I still cannot believe that you didn't have the audacity to watch over her as you should have," he pressed.

Mokuba glanced worriedly between the pair, "well...he does kinda have a point, Seto. You could've-"

"I get it," he intervened coldly. Kaiba couldn't stand all their bickering and besides that, they both had already proven their points loud and clear - the fault of her sudden absence resided entirely with him, no questions asked.

"I'm going."

"And where exactly is that? What are you going to rip off in that damned forest that my men already haven't?" Pegasus questioned, "I asked them to look under every bush-"

"Tree," Mokuba corrected.

"Yes well, tree, bush, same thing - in any case, finding her in this weather is impossible. We'll wait it off until the morning to send off search teams. Until then, just hope she's alright and- wait, where are you going?" Pegasus furrowed his brow, watching Kaiba leave through the front doors.

"He's going to get her," Mokuba said, lounging in a chair.

Pegasus eyed the boy wearily, "you're taking this rather lightly."

Mokuba shrugged in response, "it's Seto, what can you do? He's just like that. It may not look like it, but he feels responsible," he smiled, " I know he looks like he doesn't care because he never says anything, but he knows better. It's just how he functions."

Sighing, Pegasus rubbed his temples and headed towards the stairs. "Alright then. Tell me if you get any further news. I'll be in my study."

Mokuba tipped his fingers, "roger that."

oOo

_Oh my god. _

_Oh my god._

_Oh god. _

_Who asked me to come here? Those men...I can believe I fell for the 'would you like to have a drink on my ship' line! I mean, honestly... I'm such an idiot, _Serenity rambled, walking in the dead of the night.

_I can't believe it - I almost go seduced, groped and kidnapped in one go! If only I had noticed sooner I might still have made it to the castle. And dammit all - where am I? Did I pass that tree twice? Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm lost, _she thought inwardly, and moaned when she realized that the forest only seemed to go deeper and deeper.

"Hello," she breathed out, her voice unusually high. The only reply she got was the wind rustling through the trees. "Oh, who am I kidding? No one's out here in this forest," she sighed, stopping by a shady tree.

"And of all the clothing to be stuck in - I'm wearing a dress," she groaned aloud, eyeing the now dirty fabric. Not only was her dress now dirty, but also made her body feel heavily constricted making in nearly impossible to walk up a hill without falling spontaneously. "There's got to be a main road somewhere here," she grunted, trudging forward. "I mean the guests didn't just fly into the castle."

A loud crackle thundered in her steps and Serenity turned her gaze towards the clouded sky. "Oh, no, no, no - don't rain," she whispered, moving faster. Her silent steps were soon replaced by a squishing noise that could only be described as mud. She glanced back at the sky only to be met with a light patter of raindrops now falling steadily over the surrounding area. "No, no - don't rain please, it's already so damn wet out here!" An other furious crackle was omitted from the clouds above, and Serenity, have had just about enough, took off both her heels, fiercely picked up the hem of her dress and ran forward in the pouring rain, silently praying that she didn't step on a splinter or a dead animal.

_Kaiba,_ she thought as she narrowed her eyes and ran forward, _if only he didn't make me so angry - I swear that man is bipolar! One minute he's normal the next minute he turns into a prepubescent whiny, irritating, cold, inconvenient jerk and - what on earth?_

Serenity stopped dead in her tracks, eyes-widened as she peered over the fallen cliff below her. Standing inches away from the broken and muddied path, she glanced down into the dark abyss. _Well, it appears to be a very inconvenient sixty meter hell hole down_, she thought idly as she peered into the bottomless cliff. "How does Mr. Pegasus live on this damned island," she muttered, blowing a fallen strand of hair off her face. "I mean, you'd think the man would have some easily accessible secret path down here!"

"He does, I assure you. But you obviously fancy yourself to be some one-eyed explorer coming out here in half a dress and no shoes."

"Excuse me, I was almost kidnapped and hauled across by some filthy looking m-" Serenity abruptly stopped in her response, when she finally realized that she was not alone. Turning around, her hazel eyes widened in shock as she fixated her gaze on the owner of the voice.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"No, it's turtle," he hissed, as he brushed aside a tree branch, "I thought you'd posses the decency to identify your ceo, but apparently not."

Serenity stood frozen in spot. A flurry of emotions ran through her at that very moment, and she was absolutely certain that if the person stepping through the woods was not Seto Kaiba, she would have forgotten all curtsey and manners, and simply ran up to them only to collapse in the persons arms - kiss them even. But with him here her reaction was kept subtler, insignificant even, however she was undeniably grateful that he had found her. She noted that Kaiba had changed back into his usual long gravity-defying trench coat and black pants.

"What are you doing here?"

Kaiba glared at her, "I think a thank you is needed. And I believe the better question is, what are _you_ doing here?" He asked, pulling her by the hand and off the cliff edge.

Stumbling a bit, she fell straight into his chest, "well, I - no, those men at the banquet invited me for a drink on their ship...they, well, wanted to discuss business shortcomings, but their true motives became more clear as we walked closer to the shore, so I ran away from them while they were busy talking," she explained.

"How'd you find me?" She asked, curiously gazing up at his face.

Pushing her away, he pulled out a blue piece of fabric and tossed it to her. "You left a pretty obvious trail."

"Oh."

He eyed the remains of the evening gown, a smirk itching to tug on his slim face, "and I can see what's left of it."

Serenity looked down to see the lovely dress shredded in various parts, muddied heavily from bottom to waist, and quite damp from the rain. The off shoulder strap was beginning to slip and various portions of the blue dress were torn. "Oh my god - Mr. Pegasus is going to kill me," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"He'd be doing it with reason."

"That's not funny."

"Humor me then," he retaliated dryly.

Glaring at the man before her, Serenity stabbed an accusing finger towards his face, "humor you? With all due respect Mr. Kaiba, I think there's nothing humorous about this situation," she hissed, gesturing to their surroundings and the rain falling steadily in the background.

Kaiba crossed his arms and glared down at the disheveled looking female before him, "Nothing's funny when you're in half a dress, no shoes and no wits."

"No wits? You're being rather kind today, Mr. Kaiba - this lovely weather is probably brushing off on you," she replied through narrowed eyes.

Ignoring her sardonic remark, he cast her shadowed gaze, "I hear honesty is the best policy. Now Let's go- I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly interested in standing out here in the rain," he said, eager to end their conversation. Spinning around on his heels, Kaiba started walking through the muddied path.

"Wait!" Serenity called out, scampering after him.

"Move faster," he called back, not turning around to glance at her pitiful state.

"Why don't you try running around in a ripped dress for a change!"

"I'd rather not," he brooded.

She hissed at his nonchalant tone of voice, "then don't tell me to move faster."

"This rain is getting worse by the minute," he muttered as he eyed the area surrounding them.

Kaiba stopped abruptly on the path and Serenity, who was too busy watching the mud squish between her toes as she walked, promptly bumped into his back. He gave her sideways glare, which was met with her own intense gaze. "Why did we stop?"

"Because."

Serenity sputtered, "because? What do you mean because? We can't stand out here in this rain - we'll _die_," she added, pressingly. Kaiba surveyed the land, trying to find an opening in the eroding land around them.

"Stop exaggerating the situation," he iced, "it's just a bit of rain." As if on cue, the holy god of karma answered the pair with another large crash of thunder and even heavier rain. Serenity shot Kaiba a weary look, as she placed her hands on her hips, "yes, _this_ is nothing," she said, gesturing to the pouring downfall, "because apparently, you've lived in the ocean for quite some," she simpered. Ignoring her sarcastic comment, Kaiba spotted a small dirt path near the left and began walking that direction. "Keep moving."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"I won't."

Kaiba was beginning to lose his patience with this woman. Was she always like this outside the office? _The weather must be affecting her mood_, he mentally noted. And on a good day, Seto Kaiba would be able to handle this sort of stuck-up, hope-depraved attitude from anyone, but today was not on of those days. Today, his mood was not even close to tolerable and their given situation only spiked his irritated behavior. Yes, things had been going magnificently well at the castle, until this woman had decided to pop up. And it was there and then that Kaiba decided that all the faults that were happening so far were because of _her- _but likewise, so were many of his successes. If her presence could be described in one word, it would be confusing.

He closed his eyes, and muttered to himself, "why did I bring you along?"

It was as if Serenity's ears had gained extra hearing power for a split second, as she furrowed her eyebrows at his not-meant-to-be-heard comment. "Why did you bring me along?" She repeated and gave a huff of dismal, "is that really the right thing to be asking? Besides, if I recall correctly, you _insisted_ that I come," she added, and inwardly smiled at his obvious discomposure at her words.

Kaiba merely grunted, and picked up his pace. A heavy silence fell over them, as the pair trudged forward in the cold rain. Kaiba would occasionally glance to make sure she hadn't tripped over a root, or lost a limb because the possibility of that happening seemed very high in his head for some peculiar reason. He couldn't help but notice the state of her dress had been reduced to nothing but pieces of blue garment hanging off her skin; under good lighting and a thoughtful mind, the rational image equivalent of her right now was best put as a slice of blue cheese- with holes of course. He smirked shrewdly at that thought, making sure she couldn't see his face.

"The rain's getting heavier," she said observantly, breaking the unyielding silence.

"So what?" His reply came short.

Serenity stopped dead in her tracks, "so I'm not moving."

Kaiba snapped around and stared at her intently - he felt his last ounces of patience running low. "You will walk," he simply stated.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she raised a delicate brow at him, "walk? I'm not fit to move, let alone walk."

His heated stare never fell from her figure. Inwardly, he did agree with Serenity on her beat up state as she stood there with a stern frown, a ripped dress, unkempt hair that had toppled out of all it's grace and elegance and now hung wet, matted and damp against her flushed skin, all the way down to the curve of her back. Kaiba had remembered seeing her in such a state before at the office - and it was the same feeling he had back then, which he agreed with now. He liked seeing her in a slightly flushed and untidy state - it was realistic. And on a personal level, he didn't know why. Nor was he particularly interested to find out. But that still didn't change the matter of the situation at that moment.

Her un-willing attitude was going to be the death of them both.

He stepped closer to her, "walk."

Serenity shook her head, "I will not," she repeated.

He growled lightly and narrowed his eyes, towering over her like a tall soaked cliff, "Walk or I make you walk," he bargained.

Serenity made a curious face, "make me walk? I'd like to see you try."

"No you wouldn't - trust me."

"Trust you?" She scoffed, "we're a long walk away from the path of trust," she said, giving a weak laugh. A silence spread over the air once again, and Serenity simply stared at the delirious man before her. Although her state was far worse than his, Kaiba's heavy clothing was now dampened and his brown hair clung to the sides his rain poured face as he glared at her.

"Stop being stubborn and move," he said in a deadly tone.

Serenity simply couldn't understand the man's plight - she was just asking for a quick stop, not a personal yacht. "Would it kill you to sit down for a second and rest?" She retaliated, her anger spiking.

"I hardly think you're in a position to be making decisions," Kaiba countered, "I mean, look where that got you," he added, taunting.

"Yes, and who's fault do you think that is?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Entirely yours."

Serenity felt like pulling his hairs out, "no, it's also yours," she said triumphantly.

Kaiba crossed his arms, "how so?"

"Because you- I, knew that...because you-...because I-" Serenity found her brain stumbling for the right words until she realized she had none to contradict his question, which left her standing there with her mouth hanging open.

"That's what I thought," he smirked. "_You_ decided to leave with those filthy men, _you_ got lost in this damn forest, and _you _being lost required me to come out here and look for you," he added, watching her expression somber down.

And suddenly her eyes lit up with a certain intensity that Kaiba didn't appreciate at all - not one bit. She took a step closer, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, "yes, I did all that, but the last part," she breathed, "me being lost didn't require _you _to come find me," she noted, as she collected her thoughts and realization slowly dawned upon her. "In fact, anyone could have been sent to find me," she said coyly, "and they probably were, but no one came out all the way here...except _you,_" she ended and took a step closer, poking him in the chest.

"Which begs the question Kaiba, why_ did_ you?"

He noticed her drop all formalities and go straight to the name - it bugged him, but not as much as her nosiness and understanding; he hated the fact that she actually had a brain and used it to no end when needed. Her question had him stuck, annoyed and even angrier than before - he hated that they were stuck in the middle of a forest, because that just complicated matters further. He hated the whole situation ordeal in general. He wished it were a situation back at the office - that would make it so much easier to yell at her with reason. "There's a small cave towards the right of this path. We can stop there until the rain dies down," he ground out, and started striding towards the hollow opening, leaving no room for any discussion.

Serenity blinked twice as the rain harshly jabbed her skin before she rushed after Kaiba. "Wait - you still didn't answer my question!" He ignored her. She noted cave was almost as cold as the rain and tackling winds outside once they entered the dark abyss.

"How long are we staying here?" Serenity asked.

"You're here now. Don't complain - enjoy it," he sneered back.

Serenity frowned and sat down in one corner, placing her heels beside her. She leaned against the cool rock and let out a sigh, watching through hazel eyes as Kaiba sat down on the wall opposite hers. Another heavy silence fell between the two, as they sat there taking in each other's company and the sound of the relentless rain. She took that silent moment to survey herself; for once in her life she was glad that there was no mirror. Serenity didn't even want to see how she looked at this point. Doing the best she could, she scrapped some of the mud off her dress and adjusted the clothing to cover what she could.

Kaiba watched her with a passive face and when she noticed this, she frowned. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Is there something on me?" She asked coolly.

He raised a brow, "you're covered. There's not point in foolishly trying to remove it."

"If you haven't noticed, this dress is barely hanging on," she replied, with a pitied glance at the dress as it attempted to keep her modest.

"I have," came his short reply. Oh he had all right. Her dress had a diagonal rip right from the curve of her breasts down to her hipbone. Kaiba silently wondered what tree she had to fall off to get it. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but look at it and admire how it showed all right curves in the right spot. Shaking his head, he turned back to watch the downpour. He clenched his fists tightly by his side- he disliked her being so close to her for entirely hypocritical reasons. It was just like the time he was stuck with her in the elevator. That little experience had resulted in enough actions that convinced him to never find himself in similar situations. Never again did he want to find his secretary at such a close proximity and that to wearing something so exposing. A sudden warmth pressed into his right shoulder making Kaiba snap out of his thoughts.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" He hissed, scooting further.

But Serenity simply covered the space in a matter of seconds, "it's cold - I'm sharing body heat," she answered with such a level of innocence that Kaiba was prone to side with her. Yes, he agreed it was cold, they were both soaked to the bone -although she was probably colder given her lack of proper attire- but that presented no reason what so ever to suddenly embrace the notion of sharing body heat.

Especially not with him.

Kaiba scooted away, until he couldn't move any further without the sudden possibility of being struck by lighting. "I'll fire you."

"Hmm, maybe later, Sir - when we're not in a forest far away from civilization," she said, yawning, and rubbing herself deeper into his shoulder. That threat had died out quickly.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl resting on his shoulder. Kaiba couldn't bring himself to ask her to move - it just wasn't happening. "Do you think they're worried?" Her voice echoed through the quiet cave.

"No."

"Why?"

"If they are worried, they shouldn't be," he said coldly, "it's a waste of their time. We'll be back before dawn."

"You're a terrible person," she said softly, to which Kaiba gave a small snort.

"You're not exactly mother Teresa either," he iced back. Serenity gave a quiet laugh at his childish comeback.

"But you're also nice."

Now there was sentence that he never thought would be directed towards him. Kaiba shrugged the comment off; she was half asleep anyway. And here he was, CEO of a multi-million dollar company, sitting in a cave on a lonely deserted island with a girl sleeping on him. If only his employees could see him now - it would be the death of him. It was insane. The whole idea of it. Preposterous.

"Sir?"

"What now?" He said, irritated.

"You're really warm."

"Is that not the point of sharing body heat," he said, with an obvious pained tone.

"Yes, but still," she pressed. And almost as if to prove her point in a wholesome way, she pressed closer into his side, her arms coming around his torso, and her face snuggling into his chest. Kaiba stiffened drastically under her touch and it was almost as though Serenity sensed it, so she loosened her arms slightly. Unfortunately for her, Kaiba's sat there stoically unaccepting, but for the most part, not complaining either. The fact that a good portion of her exposed torso was touching his hand did not help the situation even in the slightest. He closed his eyes and opened them again to make it was all real and happening. She moved into a more comfortable position and while doing so, her bare torso brushed Kaiba's clenched knuckles. He sucked in some air. The cave suddenly felt hot.

_It's so soft_, he muttered inwardly, and then immediately banished that thought.

He really couldn't handle being at such close proximity with his secretary. Groaning, he turned away from her and drew his attention back to the pouring rain outside for the remainder of the night. Another two hours of complete utter silence passed before Kaiba felt the body beside him stir. He shifted to give her space, as he watched her hazel eyes blink open and adjust to the surrounding light. The rain had stopped shortly and the atmosphere was now filled with a low, misty fog that reflected the sun's early rays.

"Sir- I'm sorry, I slept again," she mumbled, looking down at her hands. Kaiba seriously didn't understand this women - one minute she was an obedient hardworking secretary, and the next she turned into an arguing abrasive person with wits to match any situation at hand. It was ridiculous - and he hated it. But he didn't push it away.

"There's nothing particularly new about that, is there?" He shot back giving her a speculative glare.

Serenity gave a weak laugh, "I guess not. I suppose this situation pretty much means I'm fired," she added in a casual tone that held so much more than it meant.

Kaiba stared at her and suppressed a signature smirk from popping his face, "perhaps, perhaps not."

She glanced up at Kaiba, her hazel eye widening in the process as his words streamed through the filters of her head. "I'm sorry sir," she mumbled again, "I should have stayed at the castle."

He raised a brow, somewhat curious as to why she left with them in the first place. He knew it wasn't his place to ask, but that fact had been bothering him since her disappearance. Kaiba crossed his arms, "if you know that then why did you leave to begin with?"

A light blush played across Serenity's cheeks as she fumbled with rocks on the cave ground, "because of you."

Now that was unexpected - well, to Kaiba it was at least. "Because of me?" He ventured, repeating her words.

"Yes, kind of," She said, snapping her head back up. He peered at her closely, refusing to reply without another response. She denied him eye-contact and made sure that her interests towards the ground were well-kept. "Because you...you didn't even acknowledge my presence there. After all the hard work, I'd at least expect that much," she added, "but you didn't. So- so I guess I was just angry and upset," Serenity concluded softly.

She slowly glanced up at Kaiba to see his reaction, but the mans face held its usual monotone demeanor in place and by this Serenity was slightly unnerved. "Let's go," he said, getting up and walking out of cave.

"R-right," she said sadly, picking up her heels. Serenity hid her disappointment at his lack of response, but then again, she realized it was her mistake to expect any at all.

Once the pair made their way out, Kaiba failed to meet her gaze and Serenity remained quiet as they silently walked back through the now tranquil forest.

A long silence hung between them for the remainder of the way.

* * *

Does Seto Kaiba carry around a phone? Hmmm, he should- that would be so much more convenient. But I shall pretend he doesn't. And maybe...you can too? Mainly because I just realized that fact...whoops. Okay. I apologize for such a late update (over a month I believe), but here it is now, so thank you for waiting!


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